Arsenal travel to Highbury Stadium to face League Two strugglers Fleetwood Town in the last 16 of the EFL Cup tonight. The fixture pits the reigning Premier League champions against a Cod Army side sitting 84 places below them in the football pyramid.
Match Preview and Manager Comments
Fleetwood boss Matt Lawlor expressed excitement ahead of the fixture, noting that his team has earned their place in the last 16 through hard-fought victories. Fleetwood enter the match following a 2-1 defeat at Exeter on Saturday, having lost five of their last seven league fixtures. To reach this stage, the team secured wins against Chesterfield, Shrewsbury, and Championship club Sheffield United.
Matt Lawlor stated, “The champions are coming to town and they’re coming to our patch. The players need to be excited by it, not overawed. The respect is through the roof but the fear can’t be through the roof.” He added, “We’ve earned a game like this. We’ve had to go through round upon round of tough games, and none of them were easy. To get to where we are, we deserve that.”
Arsenal enter the contest in strong form after defeating Everton 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to five matches across all competitions. Mikel Arteta’s side advanced to the fourth round following a 4-2 victory at Ipswich Town in round three, where Max Dowman scored twice and earned the Player of the Round honor.
Broadcast Details and Match Statistics
Kick-off at Highbury Stadium is scheduled for 20:00 GMT (16:00 ET / 13:00 PT) on Tuesday. Live television coverage in the United Kingdom will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, and Sky Sports Ultra. Viewers can also stream the match via Now TV, with day and monthly membership options available.
Fleetwood are competing in the fourth round for the first time in their 15th EFL Cup campaign. The club has won five successive home EFL Cup ties since August 2022 and kept clean sheets in all three home matches in the competition this season, defeating Chesterfield and Sheffield United 1-0 alongside a 4-0 win against Shrewsbury Town. Meanwhile, Arsenal have won nine of their last 12 matches in the EFL Cup, though they continue a 33-year wait to claim the trophy for a third time following defeats in recent seasons.
Kick-off takes place tonight at Highbury Stadium as the two clubs battle for a place in the quarter-finals.
