Confirmed Line-Ups: Arsenal vs Manchester City (Carabao Cup Final) | OneFootball

Manchester City head to Wembley Stadium this afternoon as they take on Arsenal in the 2026 Carabao Cup final, with the Blues bidding to end a two-season wait for silverware and deny their title rivals a first trophy under Mikel Arteta in front of a full stadium.

City arrive in London with wounds still fresh from Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid via a 5-1 aggregate score – the third consecutive season Guardiola’s side have been knocked out in the knockout rounds by Los Blancos.

Brushing themselves off from European heartbreak inside five days, the Blues now face a near-unwinnable Premier League title race and an FA Cup quarter-final still to come, making this final all the more pressing as their most immediate route to silverware.

Arsenal, by contrast, arrive in buoyant form. Arteta’s side continue to lead the Premier League by nine points and booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals just days ago with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, and will be unbeaten in six against City heading into this afternoon’s showpiece.

City’s route to Wembley has been emphatic – a 5-1 aggregate dismantling of holders Newcastle United in the semi-final underlining the Blues’ comfort in this competition and their formidable League Cup pedigree.

Only Liverpool have won the Carabao Cup more times. Guardiola, meanwhile, is targeting a record fifth League Cup triumph as a manager, having claimed four consecutive victories in the competition between 2018 and 2021.

For City, the injury picture heading into the final is relatively settled. Joško Gvardiol remains sidelined with the tibial fracture sustained in January, while Marc Guehi — arguably City’s most consistent defender since his arrival — is ineligible having joined the club beyond the cup registration deadline. Ruben Dias is also sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Mateo Kovačić is back in contention following his lengthy absence, while Pep Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday that James Trafford will start in goal, continuing the pattern of the cup goalkeeper retaining his place throughout the competition.

For Arsenal, Jurrien Timber, Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino are all unavailable through injury, while Eberechi Eze is a doubt after being withdrawn early in the Leverkusen match in midweek.

David Raya is expected to start in goal despite Kepa Arrizabalaga having served as Arsenal’s cup goalkeeper earlier in the competition — with Arteta keeping his selection cards close to his chest on that particular question.

Ahead of Sunday’s 16:30 UK kick-off between Arsenal and Manchester City, here are the confirmed line-ups from Wembley Stadium:

Arsenal

Starting XI: Arrizabalaga, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Havertz, Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Substitutes: Raya, Mosquera, Jesus, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

Manchester City

Starting XI: Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, O’Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland

Substitutes: Donnarumma, Reijnders, Stones, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden