Arsenal vs Man City (Carabao Cup Final): Preview, Team News, Head to Head, Where to Watch | OneFootball

Wembley awaits Manchester City on Sunday afternoon and one of their three remaining shots at silverware is on the line as they take on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.

The Blues suffered an early exit from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, falling to a third consecutive knockout-stage defeat against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola’s side entered the second leg with a mountain to climb, trailing 3-0 courtesy of a Federico Valverde hat-trick in the first leg last week.

City started on the front foot and created several big chances inside the opening 10 minutes. Rodri, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders all came close to giving City the dream start they had hoped for but the breakthrough never arrived.

Just minutes later, disaster struck. Bernardo Silva was shown a red card for a handball to deny a Vinicius Jr. effort – an incident that could mark a final Champions League appearance in Manchester City colours for the Portugal international, who is expected to leave the club in June.

Vinicius Jr. converted the resulting penalty in the 22nd minute, extending Real Madrid’s lead to four goals on aggregate. What had once looked unlikely now felt almost impossible for Guardiola’s side.

Despite the setback, City refused to fold and managed to pull level on the night just before half-time, with Erling Haaland guiding the ball into the net. From there on, however, the pattern was all too familiar. City controlled large spells of the game, but once again lacked the cutting edge required to turn dominance into goals.

In the third minute of additional time, Vinicius Jr. once again gave his side the lead, leaving Manchester City 5-1 down and out of the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage for the third time under Guardiola.

This weekend provides Manchester City a huge opportunity to turn a corner by winning their first piece of silverware in two seasons – and a chance to leave Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side something to think about for the remainder of the season.

Guardiola’s men must now brush themselves off and focus on a huge 90 minutes ahead. Their Carabao Cup journey so far has seen them see off Huddersfield Town, Swansea, Brentford and Newcastle – with 12 goals scored and just two conceded – a run more than deserving of their place in the final.

Arsenal’s route to Wembley has included victories over Port Vale, Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. However, having required a penalty shootout to edge past Crystal Palace, their route to the final has at times been less convincing.

Both sides have a point to prove. For City, it is an opportunity to show they remain a force to be reckoned with, a team still capable of striking fear into their opponents. For Arsenal and Arteta, it is a chance to demonstrate they have what it takes to get a trophy over the line.

Just 90 minutes stand between the two sides and a renewed sense of belief heading into the final stretch of the season. The Carabao Cup may at times be overlooked but for both sides, the stakes could hardly be higher.

Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming Carabao Cup final!

Match Details

The Carabao Cup final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 22 March and kick-off is slated for 16:30 UK.

Match Officials

Peter Bankes has been selected to referee the fixture, the last time he officiated a Manchester City match was the 1-0 win against Leeds United back in February.

You can view the full list of match officials below:

Team News

Josko Gvardiol is unavailable for Manchester City for this fixture. The Croatian is recovering from a tibial fracture he sustained in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in January. Mateo Kovacic is back and available for selection after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Pep Guardiola will be in the dugout at Wembley as his touchline ban does not extend to the Carabao Cup, with the Manchester City boss set to serve the second game of his suspension in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool in early April.

For Arsenal, Mikel Merino is ruled out for the remainder of the season following foot surgery at the end of January. Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber are likely to feature despite having missed out on the last six and two fixtures respectively.

Press Conference Quotes

Pep Guardiola will be speaking to the press on Friday afternoon to preview the Carabao Cup final, with live coverage available on X. Refresh for more updates.

Head To Head

Manchester City vs Arsenal has grown into a somewhat heated rivalry in recent seasons, reminiscent of the rivalry shared between the Blues and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. However, in reality, it has been a rather one sided rivalry thus far.

Pep Guardiola has faced Mikel Arteta 15 times since the latter’s departure from his role as the former’s assistant manager at the Etihad Stadium. During that period, Guardiola has come away with eight wins and three draws – meaning that in 15 meetings between the two coaches – Arteta has only been able to get the win on four occasions.

The overall story tells a different story, with City having won just 65 out of 149 fixtures between the two sides – but it is worth remembering that for much of that history, the two teams sat at very different ends of the football pecking order.

Despite the overall dominance, Guardiola’s City haven’t come away with a win against Arsenal in the last six matches. However, their last win was the famous 4-1 win in the 2022-23 treble-winning season – a result that has since plagued the memory of Arsenal fans, adding fuel to an already heated rivalry.

Statistics

Manchester City have won this competition eight times, while Arsenal are seeking their third title (having last won in 1993).

Arsenal hold the unfortunate record for most Carabao Cup final losses, having been runners-up six times.

Pep Guardiola’s first trophy for Manchester City came in the 2018 Carabao Cup final, a 3-0 win against Arsenal.

Arsenal have lost only two of their last 15 games at Wembley, one of which was the 2018 Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.

This will be Manchester City’s 31st visit to Wembley since the 2007 re-opening; they have played there every season for the last 16 years.

Manchester City hold the record for the fastest goal ever scored at Wembley – Ilkay Gundogan’s goal after 12 seconds in the 2023 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.

In the current Carabao Cup campaign leading to Wembley, City have won every single match by a two goal plus margin.

How To Watch

Viewers in the UK will be able to watch the match on ITV 1 and Sky Sports. Radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

For those watching from the USA, the game will be available on Paramount+ and CBS.

A full list of global TV listings can be found here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk!