Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Carling Cup match preview

Arsenal travel just up the road a piece for their first Carling Cup fixture of the season, and it just so happens that it is against arch-arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.  The match begins at 2:45 PM EDT and can be seen on foxsoccer.tv and Fox Soccer Plus live.

For all the coverage from a Tottenham perspective, please visit SBNation's Spurs blog, Cartilage Free Captain.

More after the fold.

Even though this is traditionally a tie in which Arsenal have started a team of mainly youth players and reserves, Young Guns is reporting that the team has only named three youngsters for the game: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Henri Lansbury, and Craig Eastmond will be in the squad.  Wojciech Szczesny is not in the squad; Lukasz Fabianski is.

The elder Pole will start, and Arsène Wenger has faith:

...I believe he has had other chances and he will get another one tomorrow. I am personally convinced he is a world-class goalkeeper potentially and, of course, when you have that potential you want to transfer that into competitive games.

But I can only give him the opportunity to show how good he is.

Arsenal will play without the following due to injury: Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby, Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Vermaelen, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Frimpong, and Aaron Ramsey.  And Alex Song will miss the game with a suspension.

Also missing from the touchline will be Arsène Wenger, who admitted wrongdoing in the match against Sunderland.  Pat Rice will most likely be directing the action from the technical area, screaming his face off, as is his wont.

This is a match that feels a little strange coming this early in the year, and Arsenal will want to bounce back strongly after their disappointment at Sunderland over the weekend.  Given the players at his disposal, Wenger will be able to put out a side that looks stronger than many of the sides he has played in Carling Cup matches in years past, although the season is still young, the players still fresh, and Spurs the opponent.

A victory against Spurs in their stadium would go a long way towards washing away the doom-cloud hanging above everyone's head after a bad weekend.  Life has felt a little smoggy and gray since extra time at the Stadium of Light, and while normally fog and grayness are welcome in the dog days of summer, mentally, it's maybe not the best state to be in.

Given the absences and those named in the squad, a potential lineup:

---------------------------------Fabianski--------------------------------

Eboué----------Djourou-----------Squillaci/Koscielny----Gibbs

---------------------Eastmond/Rosicky/Denilson------------------

------JET-----------------------Chamakh----------------------Vela----

With Wilshere and Lansbury maybe somewhere in the mix.