Fleetwood Town are the only League Two side to have made it through to the EFL Cup fourth round and their reward is a plum tie against Premier League champions Arsenal at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday.
There will be a much-needed financial boost for Fleetwood, who have made necessary budget cuts and rely heavily on homegrown talent.
But there is a sprinkling of experience in Fleetwood’s squad, including 37-year-old front man Ched Evans and 31-year-old striker Ronan Coughlan, who are joint-top of the club’s scoring charts with six goals apiece across all competitions.
Fleetwood got off to a promising start in League Two, although results have tailed off in recent weeks with only four points taken from their last seven matches.
Matt Lawlor’s side sit 18th in the fourth tier, but have played to a consistently high standard on EFL Cup nights and famously bridged a two-division gap in the third-round tie at home to Sheffield United with Rhys Norrington-Davies’s 57th-minute own-goal sealing a well-deserved 1-0 victory.
Overcoming the Blades was a huge achievement, but a win against Arsenal would undoubtedly go down as the greatest result in the club’s history.
The Gunners have bigger fish to fry than their midweek tussle with the Cod Army, but there are sure to be some famous names in their starting line-up.
Mikel Arteta is keen to compete on as many fronts as possible and will be looking for a professional performance to pave the way to progression to the next round.
Fleetwood Town v Arsenal Tips Summary
Best Bet - Arsenal to win 3-0 @ 5/1
Alternative Bet - Riccardo Calafiori anytime assist @ 9/2
Bet Builder - Max Dowman to score or assist, Rhys Bennett to be booked & under 5 goals @ 31/4
Fleetwood Town v Arsenal Prediction
Best Bet: Arsenal win to 3-0 @ 5/1
Arsenal were EFL Cup finalists last season - losing 2-0 to Manchester City - and they can ease through to the quarter-finals of this season’s competition with a routine success on the Fylde coast.
The majority of fans in a sellout crowd will be hoping to witness a huge upset, but the more realistic aim for Fleetwood manager, Matt Lawlor, is to avoid an embarrassing margin of defeat.
Lawlor’s team are struggling in League Two and suffered their latest setback on Saturday with a 2-1 loss at Exeter.
However, they have shown much greater discipline in EFL Cup matches, keeping clean sheets in victories at home to Chesterfield (1-0), Shrewsbury Town (4-0) and Sheffield United (1-0).
And they will be looking to get back to those miserly standards against the Gunners, who demonstrated their attacking prowess with a 4-2 victory at Ipswich Town in the previous round.
Arsenal traded a few blows with the Tractor Boys, but they should have a more serene experience against Fleetwood, who are unlikely to get on the scoresheet.
Alternative Bet: Riccardo Calafiori anytime assist @ 9/2
Among the Arsenal changes could be a recall for left back Riccardo Calafiori, who was limited to a cameo appearance in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at home to Everton.
Calafiori has assisted two Premier League goals this season and could have a key creative role against Fleetwood.
Fleetwood Town v Arsenal Bet Builder Tip
- Max Dowman to score or assist
- Rhys Bennett to be booked
- Under 5 goals
Pays 31/4
Arsenal fans are excited to get another look at 16-year-old attacker Max Dowman, who should make his second start of the campaign.
Dowman started and finished the Gunners’ EFL Cup third-round tie at Ipswich and popped up with a goal in each half.
The teenager will be in for a physical test against robust League Two defenders but he can come up with at least one major moment.
One of the toughest defenders in Fleetwood ranks is centre-back Rhys Bennett, who was once on the books of Manchester United,
Bennett has been carded five times in 11 League Two matches and his caution count may be about to increase.
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Key Match Stats
- Arsenal have won 11 of their last 13 matches
- Three of Arsenal’s last four wins have been accompanied by clean sheets
- Arsenal have started the scoring in each of their last four fixtures
- Fleetwood have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine games
- Fleetwood have lost six of their last nine matches
- Five of Arsenal’s last six games have featured less than four goals
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
