Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the EFL Cup quarter-final between North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.
These two sides last met just 17 days ago, when they played out an ill-tempered thriller in the Premier League which Arsenal ultimately won 4-2.
The Gunners made it all the way to the final of this competition last season, whereas Spurs are tonight bidding to reach the semi-final for the first time since 2014-15.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.
A cup quarter-final is always a special occasion in itself, but for this to be a North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur makes this one even more mouth-watering. It is the second time they have faced off already this month, and if tonight's game is anything like the first then we are in for a cracker. I can't wait!
Let's start with a look at the team news...
This time the Swiss midfielder is in a centre-back two alongside Sokratis, who returns from suspension, as Koscielny drops to the bench and Mustafi once again misses out due to a hamstring injury.
The Gabon striker scored twice in the derby earlier this month and will look to get on the scoresheet again having got off to a flying first year or so with the Gunners so far. Another goal today and he will quickly become some of a derby-day hero for Arsenal fans already.
© Reuters
Leno, Lichtsteiner, Koscielny and the injured Hector Bellerin are the quartet to miss out from that defeat, while there are a fill six changes from the last round of this competition against Blackpool.
The youngster has also had a good impact since joining the club this summer and he has two assists already in this competition - more than any other player at clubs still in the EFL Cup this term.
Kane is on the bench in case of emergencies, but it will be Son Heung-min who leads the line for the visitors here, having been left out of the starting lineup against Burnley at the weekend.
The Argentine has had to be cautious with his chief playmaker in recent months due to an ongoing stomach issue, but he is deemed fit enough to start tonight, which is a huge boost for Spurs.
© Reuters
Vertonghen, Dier, Dembele, Aurier and Wanyama are all sidelined through injury, while Davinson Sanchez has also failed to recover in time for this match, leaving Spurs with a makeshift backline once again.
Winks replaces Skipp in midfield in one of four changes for Tottenham, which also sees Gazzaniga continue as the cup goalkeeper. There is notably a place on the bench for Juan Foyth, who himself has only recently returned to first-team training following an injury, but Pochettino sticks with Davies in a central position.
Arsenal, of course, came out on top in the one between these two sides just 17 days ago, but they trail Spurs by five points in the Premier League table so it is Tottenham winning the war right now, even if Emery won his first taste of a North London battle.
It was the Gunners' first loss since August 18 against Chelsea - and only their third under Emery - but many Arsenal fans would concede that the impressive length of that unbeaten run helped to paper over some cracks which still need addressing.
© Reuters
Fifth would be an improvement from last season for sure, and Arsenal do seem to be heading in the right direction again now, but it is the top four spot which they will be after and they are now three points adrift of Chelsea following Sunday's results.
Indeed, the Gunners are without defeat in their last 13 outings on home turf, winning 10 of those since losing to Man City in what remains Emery's only home loss as Arsenal boss. Their good run stretches beyond just Emery, though, with that defeat also being their only one in their last 22 Emirates Stadium appearances, stretching back to March 1.
Spurs are the first top-flight team to block their path so far this term, having beaten Brentford 3-1 and Blackpool 2-1 to make it to this stage of the competition.
They made it all the way to the final in Arsene Wenger's final season at the helm last term, but they were well beaten at Wembley as Manchester City ran out 3-0 winners.
The EFL Cup never seemed to have the same allure to him - understandably, perhaps - and it is a trophy Arsenal have only ever won twice before in their history - most recently in 1992-93.
There has been undoubted progress for Spurs under Pochettino - most notably securing three top-three finishes in a row, while their average points tally during his four full seasons at the helm has been more than 74, compared to 68 in the four seasons before he arrived. However, there remains a very noticeable monkey on his back.
© Reuters
However, that has not prevented the Argentine from establishing a reputation as one of the best managers in world football, and he has been heavily linked with the newly-vacant Manchester United post over the past day or so - not to mention the repeated speculation that he is top of Real Madrid's wish list too.
Indeed, Tottenham's last two trophies have been this one and, while they remain in contention on all four fronts this season, it appears to be their best chance again this time around.
Unlike Arsenal, though, Spurs have come up against a couple of top-flight teams in this season's competition already, needing penalties to beat Watford in the third round before a 3-1 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium in the last round.
However, you may be ahead of me in identifying the match they lost in that run - at this stadium against the same opponents earlier this very month.
© Reuters
Pochettino's side sit third in the standings, five points clear of Arsenal and only six adrift of leaders Liverpool. Many have painted it as a two-horse race for the Premier League title this season, but Spurs will still consider themselves in the running.
However, once again that solitary defeat was inflicted here by Arsenal in that thrilling derby, while they have not won back-to-back EFL Cup away games since September 2009 - something they could achieve tonight following their win at West Ham in the previous round.
Who knows?! These games are unpredictable at the best of times, yet alone with rotation and the added fire of a cup quarter-final involved too. Spurs have not had the best luck away to Arsenal down the years, but I have a sneaky feeling that they might be able to pull off a win tonight.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Arsenal 1-2 Tottenham
That means that Arsenal tonight have the chance to beat Spurs twice inside the same calendar month for the first time since doing so in March 1987.
© Reuters
Arsenal have generally dominated that particular history, winning seven of the previous 13 with Spurs only managing three wins in that time.
Mathieu Flamini, of all players, netted a brace either side of a Calum Chambers own goal to give Arsenal a 2-1 win in September 2015.
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Xhaka, Monreal; Torreira, Guendouzi; Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Iwobi; Aubameyang
TOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Gazzaniga; Trippier, Alderweireld, Davies, Rose; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Dele, Lucas; Son
A long boot forward from Gazzaniga hits Lucas and drops to Alli, who immediately plays the ball through for Son. The Korean only has the keeper to beat, and unlike Mkhitaryan at the other end he makes no mistake with his finish.
© Reuters
5 - Son Heung-Min has been directly involved in five of Spurs' last eight goals in the League Cup (three goals, two assists). Factor.— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 19, 2018
Spurs saw plenty of the ball in that opening 45 minutes, but Arsenal created arguably more good chances and will feel that they could well be at least level in this match.
It came seconds after an Arsenal attack had broken down, and it is not the only time that Tottenham have hit their hosts on the break, with Moussa Sissoko also squandering a clear chance at the end of a devastating counter.
The first saw the winger glance a header from Xhaka's corner right across the face of goal, but the better opening arrived when Mkhitaryan play a slick one-two with Ramsey to leave him with only the keeper to beat. Mkhitaryan tried to give the keeper the eyes, though, and ended up putting his finish too close to Gazzaniga.
Arsenal ended the half strongly and came close again just a couple of minutes later, with Sokratis planting a header wide of the far post.
Kane drops deeps onto the halfway line to collect the keeper's pass and is allowed to turn and loft a ball forward for Alli. Alli only has Cech to beat, and his finish is sublime as he just flicks it over the keeper and into the corner.
© Reuters
2 - Dele Alli has been directly involved in both of Spurs' goals (one goal and one assist), as many as he had been in his previous seven games against Arsenal combined (2). Inspired. pic.twitter.com/GNPHx8OOmz— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 19, 2018
Arsenal fans' moods will not be improved by the fact that it was Alli who was the star of the show, creating the first for Son before adding an exquisite second of his own as Spurs got swift revenge for their derby defeat earlier this month.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's EFL Cup North London derby, which ends in glory for Tottenham Hotspur at the home of Arsenal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction - not to mention the semi-final draw too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!