Arsenal and Manchester City face off in the 2025-26 Carabao Cup Final on Sunday evening at Wembley, with plenty on the line for both sides. For Mikel Arteta's side, a trophy could ease the pressure on his side as they still remain in the hunt for a quadruple, while for Pep Guardiola's team, a victory over their title rivals could provide fresh impetus in the Premier League as they chase down a nine-point gap.
The two teams come into this fixture in contrasting moods, with City still licking their wounds after Real Madrid dumped them out of the UEFA Champions League with a 5-1 win on aggregate. Arsenal, meanwhile, strolled to a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to set up a UCL quarterfinal against Sporting CP and thus strengthen talk of a quadruple.
It's a battle of master and apprentice, with Arsenal unbeaten in their last six games against City. However, since Arteta last lifted a trophy with Arsenal (2019-20 FA Cup), Guardiola has won four league titles with City, a Champions League, an FA Cup and a League Cup as well.
Here's everything you need to know about the EFL Cup final.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK, CBS / Paramount+ in the U.S., FanCode in India and beIN Sports in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Sunday, March 22 at 4:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. ET; 10 p.m. IST and 2:30 a.m. AEST, Monday).
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London.
Referee: Peter Bankes
VAR: John Brooks
Injury and Team News:
Man City XI: Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, O'Reilly, Rodri, Bernardo, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Donnarumma, Reijnders, Stones, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden
Arsenal XI: Kepa, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Subs: Raya, Mosquera, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Madueke, Dowman, Martinelli, Jesus
Talking Points:
Not 'just' a cup final
While City's players have been playing up the final as a potential panacea for their recent troubles (they have won only one of their last five games), their Arsenal counterparts have been keen to emphasize that this is a one-off game that may not have a bearing on the rest of the season.
Going into the international break with a trophy already won however, could have a massive impact on either team's respective seasons. For Arteta, the prospect of being nearly-men again could wreck the feel-good factor around the club, which could feed into an already nervy stadium atmosphere as they hold on to their Premier League lead. A City victory could bolster their resolve going into a pivotal month, where they face Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinal, after which they take on Chelsea and Arsenal in two pivotal Premier League fixtures.
An Arsenal victory meanwhile, could release the trophy tension surrounding the club. Only Bukayo Saka remains from the Arsenal squad that won the FA Cup in 2020, and entering a high-pressure run-in having already experienced the joy of a trophy would do wonders. Tired legs have caused Arsenal some issues recently, and a Carabao Cup final victory would only provide fresh motivation for a testing run-in as they chase a quadruple.
City's attack vs Arsenal's defence
It wouldn't take a tactical genius to present you with the notion that this final will probably come down to City's attack against Arsenal's defence. Yes, Arsenal became only the third team after Barcelona and Bayern Munich to score 100 goals this season in all competitions, and Pep Guardiola famously set up in a low block in the league fixture at the Emirates earlier this season.
However, given this is a cup final, we are likely to see City push for the win, and that ought to test Arsenal's defence, who've kept 25 clean sheets in 49 games this season. Erling Haaland may have scored against Real Madrid to end his scoreless streak, but the Norwegian forward missed plenty of presentable chances and his form ought to worry Guardiola. Arsenal's defence has had issues dealing with Haaland however, as the forward has scored in his last three games against William Saliba and co. but his record at Wembley (no goals in six appearances) remains a concern.
In the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki, Guardiola has game-breaking attackers who can fashion a chance or goal out of nothing, which could prove to be the difference in a one-off final, despite Arsenal's defensive strength. Should the game turn out to be an attritional contest, as many finals are, Arsenal's prowess with set-pieces could also prove to be the difference.
Goalkeeping conundrums
Pep Guardiola has already confirmed that James Trafford will be in goal for City, but whether that is the right choice for a player who might be on his way out of the club is debatable. Gianluigi Donnarumma has the experience of big finals as well, and was in stellar form when PSG beat Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League last season.
Arteta, in contrast, has kept his cards close to his chest, not revealing whether Kepa Arrizabalaga or David Raya would start in goal. Kepa has proved a fine second-choice keeper for Arsenal this season, though Arteta might miss Raya's distribution under pressure. Where Kepa might have a slight edge over Raya is in penalties -- the former Chelsea keeper has saved 8/34 penalties he's faced in his career (23.5%), while Raya has only managed 6/45 (13.3%).
Kepa's also been instrumental in getting Arsenal to the final, as he saved Maxence Lacroix's penalty when Arsenal beat Crystal Palace in a shootout during the quarterfinals. Interestingly, the last non-shootout penalty that Kepa saved was against Haaland in the 2024-25 FA Cup, while at Bournemouth.
Will it come down to substitutes?
The league fixture earlier this season saw City shut up shop after Haaland's first-half goal, and it took Gabriel Martinelli coming on as a substitute for Arsenal to find their equaliser.
With both managers intricately aware of the other's tactical preferences, we could see a cup final that might involve two teams cancelling each other out tactically. Thus it may be a trophy won on a piece of magic or an error. Given the relentless fixture schedule both teams have faced this season, an error seems the more likely.
Arsenal have a slight advantage in being able to make four changes to his team on the hour mark against Leverkusen, while City played with 10 men for seventy minutes, although Guardiola made early changes as well. With Martin Ødegaard still an injury doubt for Arsenal, Eberechi Eze might be aiming to win another Cup final against City, but Arteta's secret weapon could be Martinelli coming on, or even Max Dowman.
What do the numbers say?
Only Liverpool (10) have won the Carabao Cup more times than Manchester City (8). No other team has lost more League Cup finals than Arsenal (6).
Pep Guardiola is aiming to become the first manager to win the trophy five times, having won four-in-a-row from 2018 to 2021. Guardiola has never gone back-to-back seasons without winning a major trophy in his career (City went trophyless in the 2024-25 season).
City have never lost three major cup finals in a row, having lost their last two (2023-23 FA Cup vs Manchester United and 2024-25 FA Cup vs Crystal Palace).
After a run of 15 losses in 16 games, Arsenal are unbeaten in their previous six games against City. However, they've only won two in that period and three in their last 22.
Arteta could become the first-ever Arsenal manager to win his first two finals with the club. He has never lost at Wembley as a player (three wins and one draw) nor as a manager (two wins, two draws).