The League Cup has hit the quarterfinals and it kicks off with Arsenal facing League 1 Sunderland. It’s been an up and down season for Arsenal and they’re currently on the upswing with three straight wins to their name. Sunderland, meanwhile are on a hot stream of their own with only a single loss in their last nine matches. Winner here is off to the semifinals.
Here’s are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 21
- Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Emirates Stadium –London, England
- TV: None | Live stream: ESPN+
Storylines
Arsenal: The Gunners young guns are firing all cylinders. Gabriel Martinelli has three goals in his last three matches, joining Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard as a possible center piece of an exciting young Arsenal squad. Although it’s possible many of Arsenal’s first stringers will be rotated for a match against League 1 opposition, manager Mikel Arteta should take care not to be too casual as an upset here would bring the North London side’s building momentum to a screeching halt.
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Sunderland: After years of tumbling down England’s soccer pyramid is this the season when things finally begin to turnaround for the former Premier League side? In addition to their run to the quarterfinals here, they currently sit third in the League 1 table and are prepared to fight for promotion back to the Championship with only Rotherham and Wigan above them. In attack they on Ross Steward whose 11 goals make up more than a quarter of Sunderland’s 39 total. Nobody else has more than 11. They’ll probably need him to play out of his mind, because even against League 1 opposition this isn’t a stiff defensive unit, to say nothing of how they might handle even a rotated Arsenal side.
Prediction
Arsenal are too much for Sunderland, but the Black Cats pick up a consolation goal for their troubles. Pick: Arsenal 3, Sunderland 1