Arsenal will be going for the win tonight at the Madejski Stadium, it is knockout football after all, but Arsene Wenger is expected to rotate his squad as he regularly does in the competition.
One player who will not feature is Jack Wilshere. The midfielder made his long awaited Premier League comeback at the weekend against QPR, and Arsene Wenger said he would not play the youngster twice within a week.
So who will and won't feature for the Gunners?
Last round against Coventy, Arsenal handed debuts to Martin Angha, Damian Martinez and Serge Gnabry, as a substitute.
Angha will not feature, after playing for Arsenal's under-21 side against Blackburn last night, but Martinez and Gnabry were notable absentees from that team, indicating they will play against Reading, with Thomas Eisfeld also not involved.
Here is our predicted Arsenal XI for tonight:
Martinez
Jenkinson Koscielny Miquel Santos
Gnabry Coquelin Eisfeld Oxlade-Chamberlain
Arshavin
Walcott
Subs: Giroud, Frimpong, Djourou, Shea, Yennaris, Chamakh, Bellerin.
Analysis: We believe this is the night Arsene Wenger will hand Theo Walcott his opportunity to play up front tonight. Olivier Giroud, starter in the last round, played 90 minutes against QPR at the weekend, and Marouane Chamakh is unlikely to be given the nod.
Supporting Walcott, may be Arshavin, also in a central role as is his preference, with Serge Gnabry and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain filling the wide positions. We expect a starting spot to be handed to Gnabry, who has featured as a substitute recently, with Wenger keen on learning more about his readiness to play in the first team. He scored away to Reading for the under-21s last night and said last night he is hoping to start.
In midfield Coquelin could be partnered by Thomas Eisfeld, with Emmanuel Frimpong commenting today he still feels he is short of fitness to start for the first team, and may instead appear from the bench. At the back Carl Jenkinson is likely to play after Sagna got the nod at the weekend, while on the left Kieran Gibbs' injury means options are limited at left-back and Andre Santos could get another opportunity to attempt to find some form.
A tough choice will be whether to give Koscielny a needed game at centre-back, and we suspect Wenger will partner him with Miquel, with Djourou dropping to the bench from the last round, and likely to leave in January. Martinez should play in goal again, although Wojciech Szczesny returned to training yesterday and could be a surprise selection.
What do you think of the team above? Let us know your predicted XI below...
image: © wonker
Dan Coombs
@hitcdancoombsGoogle+more stories from Dan Coombs
Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.
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