Prediction: Arsenal vs Norwich

Verdict: Arsenal to win to Nil

Best Odds: 7/5

Bookmaker: Bet365

Premier League giants Arsenal play host to second-tier Norwich City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup hoping to extend their winning run to three on the trot after pouncing Everton in a morale-boosting 5-2 victory at Goodison. The Canaries travel to London in high spirits as well and on the back of a nine-match unbeaten run.

Arsenal

The Gunners made an instant response to their frustrating dying-moments defeat to Watford in the previous round of the Premier League with an impressive 5-2 victory at Everton.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring for the hosts early on but Arsenal managed to level through Monreal in the closing stages of the first half. The Gunners took full control of the game after the break and went three up courtesy of Ozil, Lacazette and Ramsey. Niasse’s injury time goal made it 4-2 for Arsenal but wantaway star Alexis Sanchez rounded it off a minute later to complete the scoring for a compelling 5-2 triumph. Arsene Wenger’s men are slowly building back momentum in all competitions, having fought bravely for a 1-0 Europa League win over Crvena Zvezda during last week and will be highly keen on continuing the run this week in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The London-based club recorded a 1-0 win over League One side Doncaster Rovers to progress through into the fourth round and will be expected to once again make a couple of notable changes to their line-up against Norwich.

Team News

Mathieu Debuchy could once again be called up to the starting line-up after returning to the squad in Belgrade last week.

Wilcock, Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud are all expected to be given a starting role as well, together with Theo Walcott who’s been in fine form of late.

Norwich

Championship promotion contenders Norwich City will travel to London determined to demonstrate they are not to be pushed around. A 1-0 win at Ipswich this weekend extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches in all competitions and the morale is high in Daniel Farke’s squad.

Norwich City sit sixth in the Championship table and are running high on confidence after responding brilliantly to a 4-0 hammering they sustained at Millwall back in August. The match at Ipswich was a major test of character for Farke’s men who have become quite a resilient side. The most impressive aspect of Norwich’s most recent run in the fact they recorded five wins away from home, including the 3-1 triumph over Brentford in the previous round of the Carabao Cup. The Canaries will be enjoying a strong support at the Emirates as all of the club’s ticket allocation has been sold. This means Norwich will be backed by 8,800 fans at the Emirates which is bound to prove as a major boost for Daniel Farke’s side.

Team News

Christoph Zimmermann was forced off the Ipswich game through injury and is likely to miss out on a trip to London.

Husband and Vrancic are pushing for a starting birth but Farke is unlikely to make too many changes for the Arsenal game.

Key Factors to Consider

• Arsenal lost only 1 of their last 10 matches in all competitions
• Gunners won 4 out of last 5 meetings with Norwich
• The Canaries are flying on the back of nine-match unbeaten run
• Norwich won all of their last five matches on the road
• Arsenal scored 6 goals in last two matches

Conclusion

Arsene Wenger is likely to continue the squad experiment in order to preserve his first-team stars for more grueling challenges of the Premier League, which could put his Carabao Cup future at stake against in-form Norwich. The Gunners still have plenty of quality within their squad to be considered major favourites for this clash.

Verdict: Arsenal to win to Nil

Best Odds: 7/5

Bookmaker: Bet365