Preview: Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic, Carling Cup Quarter-Final

It was not a good day at Wigan in April. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, November 30

19:45 GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Martin Atkinson
• Last League Match: Wigan Athletic 3 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 10 Arsenal wins, 2 Wigan wins, 1 draw
• All-Time in League Cup: 2 Arsenal wins, 1 Wigan win, 0 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: W-L-W-W-L-W
• Wigan's League Form: L-L-D-W-L-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Djourou - Koscielny - Gibbs

Denilson - Wilshere

Walcott - Rosicky - Vela

Van Persie

Subs from: Fabianski, Sagna, Clichy, Song, Nasri, Arshavin, Bendtner

Out: Squillaci (knee), Fabregas (hamstring), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles)

News and Notes

• Emmanuel Eboue's six-to-eight week knee injury has only kept him out for one and the Ivorian is expected to return to the squad tomorrow.
• Sebastian Squillaci picked up a back injury at Aston Villa on Saturday, which means the center backs essentially pick themselves again for this match.
• I understand that Arsene Wenger is going with fairly strong sides in the Carling Cup this year, but I'd guess Alex Song and Samir Nasri will be rested. That'll bring Denilson into the holding role and Tomas Rosicky into the central role.
• Keep in mind when thinking about the strength of this line-up that Aaron Ramsey and Henri Lansbury are out on loan.
• For Wigan, midfielder Tom Cleverley is unavailable (cup tied? he's on loan from United,) and Antolin Alcaraz returns from a one match ban, but Gary Caldwell has two more matches to serve.
• Gary Caldwell (thigh), Emmerson Boyce (hamstring), and James McCarthy (ankle) are all out for the Latics.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have beaten Wigan 10 times in 13 meetings, a history that only dates back to 2005.
• Wigan knocked Arsenal out of the League Cup in the semi-final in 2005/06 on away goals.
• Arsenal has lost at this stage of the League Cup in the last two seasons, but it's the eighth straight year they've gone this far.
• Wigan have not won away from home in their last six matches in all competitions.
• This is Wigan's 100th League Cup match.

The Referee

• The referee is Martin Atkinson.
• Atkinson took charge of Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Liverpool (where he sent off Laurent Koscielny) and their 3-1 win over Birmingham (where he sent off Jack Wilshere.) He's shown 7 red cards this season, tied for most among all English referees who work top flight games.
• He also worked Wigan's 2-0 loss at Manchester United on November 20. At the hour mark, Wigan was down to nine men.

Other Quarter-Final Ties
(P = Premier League, C = Championship)

• Tuesday: West Ham United (P) v. Manchester United (P); Boleyn Ground, London
• Wednesday: Birmingham City (P) v. Aston Villa (P); St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Wednesday: Ipswich Town (C) v. West Bromwich Albion (P); Portman Road, Ipswich