Arsenal seek 2nd Liverpool cup win

Arsenal seek 2nd Liverpool cup win

LONDON – Arsenal will look to complete a rare Anfield cup double tonight when they face Liverpool in a League Cup quarter-final three days after winning there in the third round of the FA Cup.

Liverpool are unbeaten at home in the league since October 2005 but, having lost to Benfica in the Champions League and now Arsenal they will want to avoid a cup hat-trick at “fortress Anfield” in a game rescheduled after being postponed due to fog before Christmas. Both sides are likely to line up differently today for a competition that is last on the list of wants.”The result will give us a mental strength.We will come back with a different team but we want to win the game,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after Saturday’s success.Tomas Rosicky, who has struggled to impose himself at Arsenal since his summer arrival, scored twice on Saturday and could keep his place.But captain Thierry Henry, who also scored on Saturday but missed all of December with injuries and mental exhaustion, is an unlikely starter.”He is getting his legs back …I think the break has benefited him because to play this kind of game …you have to be fresh mentally as well,” Wenger said.Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will also ring the changes with an eye on the league game against Chelsea on January 20.Today’s winners will play Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals, which kick off on tomorrow when league champions Chelsea visit fourth-division Wycombe Wanderers.Wycombe have already knocked out Premier League Charlton Athletic but will find Chelsea even an under-strength Chelsea a different proposition.Chelsea are without any recognised central defenders after suspended Ricardo Carvalho joined injured duo Khalid Boulahrouz and captain John Terry on the sidelines.Right-back Paulo Ferreira and midfielder Michael Essien will fill in.At the other end, 30-million-pound signing Andriy Shevchenko continues to struggle, looking anything but world class in Saturday’s 6-1 FA Cup win over fourth-division Macclesfield.”It is frustrating for a striker to be in a team that wins 6-1 and he is not on the scoresheet,” coach Jose Mourinho said.”He fought hard.Maybe in some other matches I could not say this …but, against Macclesfield, he chased the luck and fought hard,” he added of the former scourge of Italian and European defences.Nampa-ReutersBoth sides are likely to line up differently today for a competition that is last on the list of wants.”The result will give us a mental strength.We will come back with a different team but we want to win the game,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after Saturday’s success.Tomas Rosicky, who has struggled to impose himself at Arsenal since his summer arrival, scored twice on Saturday and could keep his place.But captain Thierry Henry, who also scored on Saturday but missed all of December with injuries and mental exhaustion, is an unlikely starter.”He is getting his legs back …I think the break has benefited him because to play this kind of game …you have to be fresh mentally as well,” Wenger said.Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will also ring the changes with an eye on the league game against Chelsea on January 20.Today’s winners will play Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals, which kick off on tomorrow when league champions Chelsea visit fourth-division Wycombe Wanderers.Wycombe have already knocked out Premier League Charlton Athletic but will find Chelsea even an under-strength Chelsea a different proposition.Chelsea are without any recognised central defenders after suspended Ricardo Carvalho joined injured duo Khalid Boulahrouz and captain John Terry on the sidelines.Right-back Paulo Ferreira and midfielder Michael Essien will fill in.At the other end, 30-million-pound signing Andriy Shevchenko continues to struggle, looking anything but world class in Saturday’s 6-1 FA Cup win over fourth-division Macclesfield.”It is frustrating for a striker to be in a team that wins 6-1 and he is not on the scoresheet,” coach Jose Mourinho said.”He fought hard.Maybe in some other matches I could not say this …but, against Macclesfield, he chased the luck and fought hard,” he added of the former scourge of Italian and European defences.Nampa-Reuters

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