Hello sport loving Steemians!!!. A cracker event is coming up tomorrow and its the Carabao Cup Final between two giant clubs in England (Manchester City and Arsenal) and the game is crucial for both team and their managers.
Arsene Wenger is yet to win this cup before and he is looking at completing is accolade of domestic cups. Arsenal has a team needs to win a cup as a form of consolation for the Champions League qualification that's gradually becoming out of their reach. Manchester City on the other hand were campaigning to win 4 cups this season, thanks to Wigan they are left with 3 cups as they lost their 5th round match to the underdogs. Pep Guardiola who is yet to win a trophy for Manchester City will be looking at winning is first title for the team.
In terms of form, Manchester City has the upper hand in all department of the field. They have been exceptional in all competitions so far and I think they will carry the same tempo into this game irrespective of the fact that they lost a game some few days ago. On the other hand, Arsenal has not been consistent in their matches so far this season(an occurrence that's no longer new to most Arsenal fans like me ). They currently seat 6th on the EPL table with 45 points (7 points behind Tottenham) and have a lot of issues with their backline.
Comparing both teams man-to-man, will want one to make a conclusion that Manchester City will win the cup but we need to remember one thing Arsenal can beet any team in One-off game. They did it against Man City in the Semi-final and Chelsea in the FA cup final last year. Another thing is both team have the same style of play and it all comes down to which team maximizes her chance the most
Team News
Arsenal - Alexandre Lacazette (knee) and Santi Cazorla (Achilles) are out of the game with Aaron Ramsey on his way to fitness after suffering from a groin injury and Mezut Ozil is expected to be available after recovering from an illness. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can play after sitting out Europa League due to his ineligibility. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is cup-tied
Manchester City - Benjamin Mendy (knee) is out but could be replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko or Danilo. Raheem Sterling might not be on the field because of a muscle injury and Claudio Bravo will retain his position as the custodian of the goal post.
Teams History
- This is the first-ever game between both teams in a major final. Arsenal have won both previous meetings with Man City at Wembley (3-0) in the 2014 Community Shield, and 2-1 in last season's FA Cup semi-final.
- On the way to this final Arsenal has scored just 6 goals in the Carabao Cup this season, the lowest of any team to reach the final in the competition's history.
- If Arsenal wins, Wenger will become the eighth manager to win all three of the English Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup after Bill Nicholson, Joe Mercer, Don Revie, George Graham, Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish and Jose Mourinho.
- Guardiola has won six of his previous seven major local and European finals, losing only to Real Madrid with Barcelona in the 2011 Copa Del Rey final. On the other hand, Wenger has won seven of his 10 domestic cup finals with Arsenal, with his last two loss coming in this competition (2007 vs Chelsea and 2011 vs Birmingham).
- Sergio Aguero has scored in each of his last four appearances against Arsenal in all competitions (4 goals in total).
- Man City have lost only one of their last five games with Arsenal in all competitions (W2 D2)
Time and Venue
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Date: Sunday,25th February,2018
Time: 4:30 PM (UK time)
My Prediction
ARSENAL 2 - 1 Manchester City.
Drop your predictions below and don't forget to upvote. We will continue after the match tomorrow.