- Newcastle have not won a major trophy since they lifted the FA Cup in 1955
- Arsenal's only EFL Cup triumphs came in 1987 and 1993
- Recommended bet: Over 1.5 Arsenal goals

Newcastle took a huge step towards the EFL Cup final by beating Arsenal 2-0 in the semi-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.

However, the Magpies know that there is more work to be done if they are to knock out a Gunners side who thrashed Manchester City 5-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.

Five different players were on the scoresheet against the champions, including teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Arteta's men are targeting a memorable second-leg comeback at St James' Park.

Team news

Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope is hoping for a recall to the starting line-up, but Harvey Barnes and Jamaal Lascelles are injured. 

Midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who was suspended for the first leg, is available and striker Callum Wilson (hamstring) is back in training but may not be rushed into action. 

Arsenal remain without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Ben White (knee) is short of match fitness.

Youngster Nwaneri is pushing for a start ahead of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. 

The stats

Both teams have scored in only one of the last 14 meetings between these clubs and Newcastle have won their last two home games against Arsenal by a 1-0 margin.

Five of the Magpies' last 10 league and cup wins have featured over 3.5 goals, while there have been over 2.5 goals in five of the Gunners' last six matches.

The Gunners have won five of their last six matches in all competitions and have scored 23 goals in their last eight away games.

Prediction

Newcastle's impressive first-leg win came during their run of nine straight victories in all competitions and Arsenal were in patchy form at the time.

The Gunners had dropped points at Brighton the previous weekend and lost on penalties to 10-man Manchester United in the FA Cup third-round tie a few days after their 2-0 loss to the Magpies.

Arteta's men have rediscovered their shooting boots since then, scoring at least twice in five of their subsequent six games in all competitions.

The exception was a hard-fought 1-0 win at Wolves, where they had Lewis-Skelly sent off just before half-time, so backing Arsenal to score two or more goals looks like a good bet on Wednesday night.

Their rout of City was a huge boost to morale, especially as it was achieved without the injured Saka and that sets them up nicely for the salvage mission at Newcastle.

Arsenal's last two visits to St James' Park ended in frustrating 1-0 defeats, but the balance of the tie means a more open game is expected this week.

Newcastle have gone off the boil a little since the first leg, losing 4-1 to Bournemouth and 2-1 to Fulham in their last two home matches.

In between those losses they conceded an early goal in the 3-1 win at bottom club Southampton, while December's home fixture against leaders Liverpool, the only team above Arsenal in the table, ended 3-3. 

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