Passion and depth to give Chelsea advantage against Arsenal

The pick of this week’s Capital One Cup fourth-round ties sees Premier League table-toppers Arsenal and second-place Chelsea collide in what promises to be a tumultuous London derby at the Emirates. Despite the fact that respective managers Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho will rotate their squads, both men will be extremely keen to progress in the competition, and it will be interesting to see to what extent Wenger sticks to his regular League Cup routine of giving the Gunners youth players the chance of playing on the first team

"I will rotate against Chelsea, but play with a team that has a good chance to qualify," Wenger said after the draw had been made

A tough Premier League encounter with Liverpool looms on Saturday, meaning the Arsenal manager is unlikely to risk key players against Chelsea, so the experience in the Gunners’ lineup will come from fringe first-team players Lukasz Fabianski, Thomas Vermaelen, Nicklas Bendtner and Tomas Rosicky. Jack Wilshere, who started on the bench at Palace, could also feature.

"My thought is that I have to make a decision, and my answer is the under-21 team will have a very good experience in the Capital One Cup," he said after learning of the draw and how it affected Chelsea’s fixture schedule. "We play Sunday against Man City and we play Tuesday against Arsenal. When the people that decide the fixtures play us on the Tuesday after a Sunday match and Arsenal play on the Saturday (against Crystal Palace), it’s something that I have to accept, because I have no other option, but I have to prioritise. The league is more important. After that we go to Newcastle, too, and probably it will be a good chance for the kids to play a good match."