Arsenal predicted lineup vs Liverpool - Carabao Cup

It's been a long wait, but Arsenal's wait for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool is finally over.

The two sides will square off on Thursday after a Covid-19 outbreak - now discovered to be full of false positives - saw the initial tie postponed.

Mikel Arteta is without a handful of first-team regulars because of a combination of illness, injury and AFCON duty, but he will still expect a response following Arsenal's humiliating exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

Here's how he could set up.

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Bernd Leno (GK) - Since losing his first-choice role to Aaron Ramsdale, Leno has completed each of Arsenal's previous three EFL Cup fixtures, and should continue here.

Cedric Soares (RB) - First-choice right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu is set to miss this one with a calf injury, so Portugal international Cedric is likely to deputise here.

Ben White (CB) - Started the Forest defeat but will demand more of himself here.

Gabriel Magalhaes (CB) - His suspension is now over so Gabriel should return at centre-back.

Kieran Tierney (LB) - With Nuno Tavares in a bit of a slump, starting Tierney is a no-brainer.

2. Midfielders

Albert Sambi Lokonga (DM) - Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are away at AFCON and Granit Xhaka has been out with Covid-19, so Lokonga could be the 'experienced' one in midfield.

Charlie Patino (DM) - You can see why Arteta is so desperate for another senior midfielder. Nevertheless, it's a good chance for Patino to justify the hype.

Bukayo Saka (RM) - Saka's red-hot form hit a bump against Forest but he more than deserves the chance to get it going again.

Alexandre Lacazette (AM) - Both Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard are expected to be unavailable on Thursday night, so Arteta may be forced to play Lacazette in a deeper role.

Gabriel Martinelli (LM) - Excellent against Man City but underwhelming against Forest, Martinelli also needs to get things back on track.

3. Forward

Eddie Nketiah (ST) - With the sheer amount of injuries and absences on his hands, Arteta may be forced to turn to wantaway Nketiah to lead the line following his hat-trick in the quarter-finals. Who knows, this could well be his final appearance for the club.

You can read 90min's Liverpool vs Arsenal preview here.