Liverpool face Chelsea in fourth round of the EFL Cup

Xabi Alonso returns to Anfield for the third time as a manager and the first in charge of Chelsea on Wednesday, when the Blues face Liverpool in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

The London side have defeated Luton Town and Leeds United to progress this far, while Andoni Iraola‘s men beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the previous round and now aim to reach the competition’s quarter-finals.

Chelsea continue to blow hot and cold under Alonso, as underlined by their dispiriting performance against Spurs on Saturday when supporters arrived at Stamford Bridge expecting business as usual.

Instead, Roberto De Zerbi’s men outplayed the 2025 Club World Cup winners en route to securing a 2-0 victory, Tottenham’s first triumph at the Bridge since 2018.

However, Alonso must lift his crestfallen players and regain the support of fans accustomed to seeing Chelsea defeat Spurs even on their bad days.

For that to happen, the Spanish manager will hope to be third-time lucky at Anfield, having suffered 4-0 and 1-0 defeats there as Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid head coach, with his teams conceding five goals and scoring none.

The expected rotation and both teams’ defensive absentees could produce an open contest between two lineups containing several players keen to impress.

Chelsea has enough individual talent to threaten, but Liverpool’s recent comeback victories suggest that the hosts are better equipped to prevail if the tie becomes chaotic.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Holders Manchester City play host to Brighton

Two teams bidding to quickly bounce back from Premier League disappointment at the weekend square off in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, as holders Manchester City play host to Brighton & Hove Albion.

This Etihad Stadium encounter is the first of a quickfire double-header between the two clubs, who will lock horns again in the Premier League just three days later.

After starting life under Enzo Maresca with seven straight Premier League wins, Man City’s flawless top-flight record came to an end at a familiarly unhappy hunting ground as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Defensive concerns for Man City have grown in recent weeks, as they have conceded nine times across their last four matches in all competitions and have not kept a single clean sheet in this run.

Maresca’s men will conclude October with back-to-back battles against Brighton.

Man City – nine-time EFL Cup winners chasing Liverpool’s all-time record of 10 triumphs – cruised to a 5-0 home victory over Norwich City in the third round last month. However, they are without a win in four meetings with Brighton (D2 L2) and have suffered EFL Cup elimination before round five in three of the last five seasons.

A compelling, end-to-end cup tie should be in store at the Etihad between the only two Premier League sides to breach the 20-goal milestone already this season.

Man City’s persistent defensive vulnerabilities will offer plenty of encouragement to Brighton, but with both managers expected to shuffle their packs, we are backing the hosts to outgun the Seagulls and edge a high-scoring affair to progress to round five.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Aston Villa travel away to face Bournemouth

Bournemouth play host to Aston Villa, with the pair having toppled the two Manchester clubs over the weekend. The Cherries and Villans now sit in 13th and ninth position in the Premier League table respectively.

When Bournemouth lost 5-1 at Chelsea after the international break, Marco Rose may have started to have concerns over how the squad could cope with the continued absences of Alex Scott and Junior Kroupi.

Fast-forward 15 days, the south-coast outfit have four wins in a row to their name, the most recent coming by a 3-0 scoreline at Manchester United.

Such was the Cherries’ dominance at Old Trafford that they could have prevailed by a wider margin.

Aside from the defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea, Bournemouth are unbeaten in the other nine games in all competitions (W6 D3).

Rose will rotate his Bournemouth XI, with the likes of Michele Di Gregorio, Bafode Diakite, Julio Soler, Ryan Christie, Ben Gannon-Doak, David Brooks, Amine Adli and Alvaro Rodriguez all in line for starting opportunities.

With heavy squad rotation expected, this is a difficult match to predict. However, if both teams go on the offensive, that could suit an Aston Villa outfit with superior squad depth, leaving us to back the visitors to come through in a five-goal thriller.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Fulham, Crystal Palace shift their focus to EFL matches

Two bottom-half Premier League teams shift their focus to the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, as Fulham welcome Crystal Palace to Craven Cottage.

While the pressure has been lifted from Alvaro Arbeloa’s shoulders in recent weeks, there appear to be growing concerns over Pierre Sage’s future at Selhurst Park.

Arbeloa was among the early contenders to become the first Premier League manager to be sacked following a difficult start to life as Fulham boss, but one defeat in his last six matches in all competitions (W3 D2), including back-to-back league victories, has lifted the spirits at Craven Cottage.

The West London club began the 2026-27 campaign without a win in six top-flight fixtures, but they have since claimed morale-boosting 1-0 victories over newly-promoted duo Hull City and Coventry City, with Oscar Bobb netting an 80th-minute winner to secure maximum points at the CBS Arena last weekend.

Sitting 15th in the Premier League table and above the likes of Manchester United, Fulham were also triumphant in the third round of the EFL Cup last month, as they secured a 3-2 away victory over West Ham United.

Before travelling to Aston Villa in the top flight on Saturday, Fulham will endeavour to progress beyond the EFL Cup fourth round for the third time in four seasons when they take on Crystal Palace.

Fulham will be wary of their recent record against Palace, though, as they have lost four of their last five head-to-head battles with the Eagles (D1), most recently losing 3-2 at home in the Premier League just over seven weeks ago.

While both teams have endured challenging campaigns thus far, Fulham appear to be turning a corner just as a defensively-frail Crystal Palace side head in the opposite direction.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Fixtures

Manchester City 18:30 Brighton