Arsenal vs Newcastle: Betting preview for Carabao Cup semi-final

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Arsenal will put their Premier League title hopes to one side and focus on the Carabao Cup when they take on Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.

The Gunners have seen their title charge derailed by another frustrating draw – this time away to Brighton. Having led through Ethan Nwaneri’s strike, Arsenal gave away a dubious penalty following a clash of heads in the area. Joao Pedro converted from the spot to make it 1-1 and Arsenal couldn’t find a winner in the second half.

That result has left them sitting five points behind Liverpool having played two more games, so Mikel Arteta is relying on the Merseysiders imploding if Arsenal are to get themselves back in the title conversation during the second half of the season.

Therefore, Arsenal’s best chance of silverware could be in the cup competitions and they are just three games away from lifting the League Cup. The Gunners booked their place in the last four by and set up a mouth-watering double-header with Newcastle by beating Crystal Palace 3-2 in the quarter-finals. With Tottenham and Liverpool contesting the other semi-final, it’s sure to be a top-billing final at Wembley.

Newcastle come into the game off the back of an excellent run of form having won their last six games in all competitions. Their last three include wins over Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham – both away from home – so they’ll be heading to North London full of confidence.

Betting odds

Arsenal are the 4/7 favourites with the bookmakers to win on Tuesday night. Newcastle can be backed at 7/2 while the draw is available at odds of 11/5.

• Arsenal win 4/7
• Draw 11/5
• Newcastle win 7/2

The last game at St James’ Park was very tight so under 2.5 match goals at odds of 5/4 looks tempting. Given it’s the first leg of the semi-final, it should be a cagey game so I’m not expecting lots of goals.

A 1-0 win for Arsenal can be backed at odds of 7/1. Gabriel Jesus has been in fine goalscoring form of late with five in his last four outings, so the Brazilian could be a good bet to open the scoring at 9/2.

If we combine those bets and back Jesus to score in a 1-0 win for Arsenal, we can get odds of 32/1 – which could be worth a punt. If bettors also use an ethereum casino bonus code then they could get a welcome bonus or enhanced odds.

Team news

Arsenal will once again be without Bukayo Saka as the England winger has been ruled out until March with a serious hamstring injury that he suffered during the win over Ipswich Town.

Defender Ben White is also still on the sidelines as he continues to recover from a knee injury that required surgery – although Arteta is hoping the full-back is available from early February.

Ethan Nwaneri is set for a spell out after being forced off with a muscle injury at half-time during the draw at Brighton. Kai Havertz will need to be assessed after missing the last two games due to illness. Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli have also been under the weather and could only manage cameo’s off the bench against Brighton so it remains to be seen whether they’ll be fit to start against Newcastle.

Takehiro Tomiyasu remains out despite returning to light training while the same can be said of Raheem Sterling – who’s close to making his comeback from a knee injury. Jurrien Timber is back from suspension and should start at right-back.

Newcastle will be without Callum Wilson due to a hamstring injury while Jamaal Lascelles is also still out with a knee problem. Nick Pope is another absentee while Fabian Schar is ruled out due to suspension.

Predicted score

Games between these two clubs haven’t produced a lot of goals in recent years and I’m expected a tightly fought battle once again at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. Neither side will want to give too much away ahead of the second leg.

Arsenal have home advantage and Newcastle will probably come to play for a draw in the hope of winning the tie at St James’ Park. If Odegaard and Havertz are back and fully fit, then it would be a boost for Arsenal and could be enough to help secure a narrow win.

I’m predicting a narrow Arsenal victory in this one. Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle

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