The mouthwatering London derby featuring Chelsea and Arsenal takes place for the second time already this calendar year 2018. The Premier League giants clash in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final on Wednesday January 10.
The tournament is better known to football fans as the League Cup.
Chelsea's January signing Ross Barkley will not feature in the match and has to wait a bit of time to receive his first Chelsea cap. The former Everton attacking midfielder is still recovering from him hamstring injury.
Eden Hazard, meanwhile, seems to have recovered from his calf problem and looks set to appear in the match.
One of the key figures of the London derby over the years, Arsene Wenger will not be seen in the sidelines as the French tactician has received a touchline ban for his antics after the club's 1-1 draw against West Brom on December 31.
Wenger was given marching orders for the successive three Arsenal matches and he was also fined £40,000 for verbally abusing referee Mike Dean in the referee's changing room and questioning the referee's integrity.
The charge was admitted by Wenger later.
Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, meanwhile, who is engulfed in a war of words with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, off late, has mentioned that winning the semi-final first leg at home will give his side oodles of confidence.
"It's a very important game for us, a semi-final and the chance to win a trophy. We deserve to be here and it will be a tough game against Arsenal," said Conte in the pre-match presser. "Our run in this competition hasn't been easy. In the fourth round we played Everton, the fifth round was against Bournemouth and now in the semi-final we play Arsenal.
"But we must be very happy because we have reached the semi-final. We want to try to do our best to reach the final."
Match schedule
Date: January 10
Time: 8 pm GMT (1:30 am IST - Thursday)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
How to watch live
TV: Sky Sports, Now TV (UK); No broadcast (India)
Live streaming: Sky Go (UK), Arsenal Player (subscription needed)
