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Arsenal and Chelsea are set to meet at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday for the decisive second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. The Gunners hold a slender 3-2 advantage from the first leg at Stamford Bridge, leaving the Blues with work to do if they are to reach the final.

Arsenal are enjoying an outstanding 2025-26 season, remaining in contention on all four fronts. Mikel Arteta’s men currently sit atop the Premier League, finished first in their Champions League league-phase group, have advanced to the FA Cup fourth round, and are now within touching distance of an EFL Cup final berth.

In their EFL Cup campaign, Arsenal eased past Port Vale and Brighton & Hove Albion with 2-0 victories, before a tense quarter-final against Crystal Palace ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. The Gunners ultimately prevailed 8-7 on penalties, thanks to a crucial save from Kepa Arrizabalaga, setting up this semi-final clash with Chelsea.

The first leg at Stamford Bridge saw Arsenal make a fast start, taking the lead inside seven minutes and doubling their advantage early in the second half through Viktor Gyokeres. Chelsea responded with an Alejandro Garnacho goal, but Martin Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion. Garnacho struck again to narrow the deficit, leaving Arsenal with a narrow 3-2 lead heading into Tuesday’s return fixture.

After that first-leg win, Arsenal experienced a brief dip in domestic form, drawing 0-0 with Nottingham Forest and suffering a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United. However, they bounced back emphatically with a commanding 4-0 win at Leeds United in their most recent outing. Now, with momentum restored, the Gunners are looking to secure their place in the EFL Cup final and claim the season’s first piece of silverware, but must first defend their lead against an in-form Chelsea side.

Chelsea, now under the guidance of Liam Rosenior following Enzo Maresca’s departure, have enjoyed a resurgence. Despite initial skepticism from supporters, Rosenior has quickly won them over, guiding the Blues to six wins from his first seven matches in all competitions—the only loss coming against Arsenal in the first leg.

The visitors enter this encounter on a run of five consecutive victories, highlighted by an impressive win over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to secure a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals. Chelsea followed that up with a dramatic 3-2 Premier League win over West Ham United, overturning a two-goal deficit and sealing victory with a stoppage-time strike from Enzo Fernandez. Confidence will be high as they travel to the Emirates.

However, Chelsea will need to overcome a poor recent record against Arsenal, having failed to win any of their last 10 meetings in all competitions and losing on their last three visits to the Emirates Stadium.

• Arsenal to win and both teams to score - 2/1 (Betfred)
• Kai Havertz to score anytime - 13/8 (Betfred)

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