Nottingham Forest and Arsenal will compete for the third round tie of the EFL Cup tonight. Arsenal will be travelling to the legendary City Ground at Nottinghamshire for the match. The two teams have not faced each other since 1999 so it would be a great experience for the fans as well. Forest are currently 13th in the Championship table while Arsenal sit 4th in the Premier League. It will be an interesting battle between the two with the visitors having the undoubted edge over the hosts.
Team News
Arsene Wenger is likely to rotate his squad as he always does in this competition with David Ospina, Rob Holding, Kieran Gibbs, Mathew Debuchy and Chuba Akpom all set to feature in the starting line-up. Olivier Giroud who has a toe injury is out with Aaron Ramsey who is still not fit from his hamstring injury.
Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier will field a strong side and there could be a start for former Gunner Nicklas Bendtner with Britt Asombalonga out with an injury. Another familiar name for Arsene Wenger, Henri Lansbury could feature in the game. Forest will also miss the services of defensive duo Damien Perquis and Thomas Lam. The team, however, do have some players with previous Premiership experience in their line up and the manager have the players available who can give the visitors some god competition.
Possible Line Ups
Nottingham Forest (4-3-3): Stojkovic; Lichaj, Mills, Mancienne, Traore; Grant, Lansbury, Kasami; Dumitru, Vellios, Osborn
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Debuchy, Holding, Gabriel, Gibbs; Elneny, Xhaka; Chamberlain, Ozil, Rene- Adelaide; Akpom.
Key Players
Former Gunner Henri Lansbury will be the key man for the hosts as he would need to provide the creativity needed for his front three. Lansbury will have an extra motivation to perform in the match as he will have the chance to show Arsene Wenger and Arsenal that he had that quality to do it donning the red of the London club.
Chuba Akpom will get a chance to show his talent in the game and it will be a vital match for him as he will look to keep up his impressive goal scoring form from the pre-season friendlies. With the possibility of the presence of Mesut Ozil in behind, there can be a lot of good opportunities on offer for the striker to make a mark in this game.
Betting Odds
Arsenal are favourites to win the tie at 8/13, while Forest are given a chance of 4/1 for a victory. A draw is priced at 13/4. (Via 888Sport)
