Fleetwood Town will welcome Arsenal from the Premier League for a League Cup fourth-round match that will not feature the Video Assistant Referee system. The EFL has announced the officials for Tuesday's game at Highbury Stadium, confirming Michael Salisbury as the referee.

VAR is used in this tournament only if all venues in a particular round are equipped with the required technology, a standard met exclusively for the final. Because of this rule, the prior round was also conducted without VAR, and in the previous campaign the technology was only used from the semi-finals onward. Its lack was felt in last season's quarter-final stage, including a Cardiff City home game where it was absent and an incident where Manchester City may have had a player sent off if it had been available.

This represents a change for Arsenal in this competition. After having Peter Bankes as the referee for their last three League Cup matches, including the semi-final second leg, the final, and this season's third-round game, they will have a different official. Salisbury has been the referee for two of Arsenal's previous matches, a victory over Bournemouth and a draw with Crystal Palace, and has also been the VAR official for many of their games.

Recent Form and Context

The cup encounter comes with Fleetwood Town positioned 18th in the League Two table, having earned 14 points from their 13 games so far, a record of three wins, five draws and five losses. They are 11 points behind the league leaders, Salford City. Their recent form across the last five league matches shows two wins, one draw and two defeats, but they have lost their last two. Their most recent result was a 2-1 defeat away to Exeter City on Saturday 24 October, where Ronan Coughlan scored their goal. Prior to that, they lost 4-2 at Cheltenham Town, a game in which Ched Evans scored twice, including a penalty. Their top scorer Ched Evans has netted three times in these recent fixtures.

Attention will shift back to the league following the match against Arsenal, as a home fixture against Bristol Rovers, who sit 15th, is set for Saturday 31 October. Assistant referees Matthew Wilkes and Alex James will work with Salisbury, and Lewis Smith will be the fourth official for the evening kick-off.

Read the full report at BBC Sport