Carabao Cup 2018-19, Arsenal v Brentford: Preview

After seeing off Everton to make it 5 wins in a row on Sunday, Arsenal return to cup action on Wednesday for the visit of Championship side Brentford. The Bees have been making waves in the second tier and have become a solid outfit under manager Dean Smith, finishing in mid-table regularly and, on occasion, threatening to make the playoffs.

For Arsenal, the League Cup offers a good opportunity to add to The Emirates' trophy cabinet at the end season, while this tie offers Brentford the chance to pull off a true cup giant killing.

Previous Matches

Arsenal 2-0 Everton (Premier League)

Arsenal overcame Everton thanks to a goal each from this pair.

Arsenal followed up a victory in their opening Europa League fixture with a win over Everton on Sunday. The Toffees could've taken the lead through Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the early stages but it took until the second half for first blood to be drawn.

Alexander Lacazette and then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck within minutes of each other to seal the win for The Gunners. Everton had their chances on the counter, but couldn't beat Petr Cech in goal. The win sends Arsenal up to 6th and Everton down to 12th.

Derby 3-1 Brentford (Championship)

Brentford's good run came to an end at the hands of Derby County on Saturday.

Brentford's 4-match unbeaten run was halted by Derby County on Saturday afternoon, despite the Bees taking the lead in the first minute. Full-back Henrik Dalsgaard fired the away side into the lead but the Londoners were soon pegged back.

Harry Wilson, David Nugent and Mason Mount provided a triple threat as the Rams raced into a 3-1 lead before 30 minutes had gone on the clock. The match threatened to turn into a rout, despite Brentford's possession, but that was the end of the scoring at Pride Park.

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal

Predicted Arsenal Lineup v Brentford

Emery will likely select a similar side to the team that beat Vorskla in the Europa League last week. Sokratis Papastathopoulos is a doubt after sustaining an injury against Everton and likely won't be risked. However, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected to be fit after missing the weekend's clash.

The gap left by Sokratis in the defence will likely be plugged by Shkodran Mustafi, this isn't the sort of game to risk a youth player at centre-back. The likes of Bernd Leno, Rob Holding, Stefan Lichsteiner and Danny Welbeck will probably be part of around 8 changes from Sunday's game.

Brentford

Predicted Brentford lineup v Arsenal

Bees boss, Dean Smith could choose to rotate his side, as he did so against Cheltenham Town in the previous round, or go for a full-strength side in the hope of pulling off an upset. I believe he'll opt for the former approach, with a league game v Reading on Saturday just three days later.

Moses Odubajo could make a return to the starting XI since rejoined the West London club, while the likes of Luke Daniels, Marcus Forss and Alan Judge could come in to rest key players for the weekend.

Key Player: Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Arsenal's exploits in the attack could depend on this man.

With the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck up front, Brentford would be foolish to ignore the man in attacking midfield. Mkhitaryan will be pulling the strings and finding his pacey attacking partners at the sharp end of the field.

If the Bees manage to contain the Armenian, the scoreline could be a respectable one, but if the away side failed to so, it could be an embarrassing one.

Premier Practice for Brentford?

Dean Smith guided Brentford to 9th last season.

Brentford's rise through the football league has been nothing short of a magnificent achievement given their financial constraints. The Bees have become a solid Championship outfit since being promoted from League 1, and have even made an appearance in the playoffs.

The monetary boost the club will receive when they move to their new stadium next season, could be the kick they need to reach the promised land of the Premier League for the first time since the 1940's. Some would say that'd be overachievement, but I personally disagree, it's simply a case of using their resources more efficiently than a lot of their rivals, credit to them.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Brentford

Brentford's first match against the Gunners in over 70 years will more than likely end in a defeat for the outsiders. Arsenal will make changes to their lineup, but so will The Bees. The visitors definitely won't be pushovers, they're a well-organised side, but quality will ultimately win out. Even if Brentford do get an early goal, I can only see one side making it through to Round 4.