Newcastle United Vs. Arsenal Prediction: The Magpies Still Targeting One Propi That Can Be Solved

JAKARTA - Newcastle United will face Arsenal in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday night at St James' Park. With a two-goal aggregate advantage from the first leg, the Magpies have a great chance to advance to the final and end their 70-year title fasting. The winner of this duel will face Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup final which will be held at Wembley Stadium on March 16.

Newcastle United experienced a decline in performance after previously recording a record nine consecutive wins in all competitions. However, in the last three Premier League games, they lost two defeats, including a 1-2 defeat to Fulham in the last match. Despite winning first through Jacob Murphy's goal, Newcastle failed to defend their lead and had to accept defeat due to Fulham's extraordinary revival in the second half.

The result made Eddie Howe disappointed and judged his team to be far from the best performance. Now, Newcastle ranks sixth in the Premier League with the same number of points as Manchester City in fifth place. They also had to face a difficult match against The Citizens at Etihad after this match.

Although the league's performance is not yet stable, Newcastle still has a great chance of reaching the EFL Cup final for the second time in three years. In the first leg at the Emirates, they performed solidly and won 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon. Now, they are trying to maintain that advantage at home.

On the other hand, Arsenal came to this match with impressive capital after winning five wins and one draw in the last six matches. The Gunners performed outstanding in a 5-1 win over Manchester City last Sunday, a result that further revived their hopes in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta reminded his team to stay focused and not get carried away by the euphoria of victory over City, considering they are still six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have one game fewer.

In addition, Arsenal also have a chance to win trophies at the EFL Cup, although this trophy is not the club's top priority in recent seasons. They last won this tournament in 1993 and only reached the final twice in the last 14 years.

To turn things around and qualify for the final, Arsenal must win by a difference of three goals at St James' Park. While this mission was not easy, they had a pretty good away record, with six wins in the last eight games off home, three of them on a three-goal margin or more.

Newcastle still have to play without Harvey Barnes ( Muscle injury) and Jamaal Lasceles (ACL injury). However, Callum Wilson had a chance to return to the squad after being sidelined for more than eight weeks due to a hamstring injury.

Nick Pope, who has recovered from a knee injury, remains an option on the bench in the last two games. Howe now has to decide whether to sign Pope back as a starter or keep Martin Dubravka under the bar.

Di lini belakang, kirim Botman berpeluang kembali ke starting XI mengganti Fabian Schar atau Dan Burn. Sementara itu, mantan midfielder Arsenal, Joe Willock, juga berupaya mendapat tempat di lini tengah menggantikan Joelinton atau Sandro Tonali. Bruno Guimaraes dipastikan bermain setelah takang di leg pertama karena skasing.

In the Arsenal camp, they still lost Gabriel Jesus (ACL injury), Bukayo Saka (hamstring injury), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee injury). Ben White is also still recovering from a long-term knee injury and is likely not ready for this match.

David Raya, who had a muscle injury, appeared as a starter in his victory over Manchester City and is predicted to return to guarding Arsenal's goal in this match.

In the back line, Myles Lewis-Skelly, who scored his first goal for Arsenal's first team in the last game, has the opportunity to maintain his place at left-back, although Riccardo Calafiori is also an option. On the front lines, Ethan Nwaneri, who has scored three goals in the EFL Cup this season, hopes to enter the starting XI, competing with Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard.

Newcastle have a huge advantage with a two-goal advantage over the first leg and full support from the public St James' Park. Arsenal had to perform outstandingly to turn things around, but given their increasing performance, this match could be a fierce battle until the last minute.

Newcastle United: Pope; Livramento, Botman, Schar, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, GordonArsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard