Chelsea vs Arsenal: Carabao Cup preview, team news, kick-off time & how to watch
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Chelsea host Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Liam Rosenior's side are two games from securing a final spot in March's final, but they will have to overcome Mikel Arteta and the Premier League leaders.
The sides met back in November in the league and it ended in a 1-1 draw despite Chelsea being reduced to 10 men after Moises Caicedo's red card.
Caicedo will also be suspended for the first leg on Wednesday night after receiving his second yellow card of the competition against Cardiff City in the quarter-finals.
Rosenior will take charge of his first game in charge of Chelsea. He started with a win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup, but the stakes are even higher on Wednesday night.
"We've been working tactically on Arsenal from the moment I came into the club," said Rosenior ahead of the semi-final tie. "We know what an important game it is. We've watched all of their games, analysed every aspect of their game, including set-plays, which they're very good at."
With Caicedo missing, Chelsea will be desperate for Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer to be available to face the Gunners. The trio will be assessed closer to the game, with Rosenior giving them as much time as possible to be ready.
"'m giving them some extra time," clarified Rosenior.
"They're being managed. It was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. I believe in this group. There's no reason to take risks on players' health if you believe that you can win the game and they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work. That's the way it's worked out so far."
Here are all of the details ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final tie between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Date, time, location of Chelsea vs Arsenal
Date: Wednesday 14th January 2026
Kick-off time: 8pm UK / 3pm ET / 12pm PT
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Competition: Carabao Cup semi-finals, 1st leg
How to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal
United Kingdom: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football
United States: Paramount+
Prediction
Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal
Matt Debono leads the editorial team which covers Chelsea On SI. He has witnessed Chelsea win it all, whilst also featuring on ITV News, SPORTbible and various other publications.