Newport County vs Newcastle United
Rodney Parade, Newport
Wednesday, 30-09-2020 @7:30pm
Ref: John Brooks
Padraigg Amond conceded his place up top to Ryan Taylor at the weekend, but the Irishman will be hoping that his goal against Watford will be enough to earn him a start in midweek. Tristan Abrahams who bagged one against Watford and a brace against Bolton – already has five goals to his name this season in all competitions, with three of those coming in the EFL Cup. Only West Ham United’s Sebastien Haller has more in the competition.
As for Newcastle, Bruce is expected to shuffle the pack for the midweek showdown, with the Magpies manager already forced into one change owing to Matt Ritchie ‘s injury against Tottenham. Jamal Lewis will therefore start at left-back, while the attacking duo of Allan Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fraser have a chance of being involved after missing out the weekend draw. Elsewhere, Jacon Murphy. Emil Krafth and Sean Longstaff will be vying for starting roles, while Mark Gillespie should also replace Karl Darlow in goal.
This will be the fourth competitive meeting between Newport County and Newcastle, and the first since a 4-2 win for the Exiles in June 1947 in the second tier. Newcastle have scored 21 goals in their three previous competitive meetings with Newport, with the Magpies’ biggest competitive victory in their history coming against them in a second-tier match in October 1946 (13-0). This is Newport’s first League Cup fourth-round match – they are looking to become the second League Two club in as many seasons to reach the League Cup quarter-final, after Colchester last season. Newcastle have won 14 of their past 17 League Cup ties against sides from a lower division, with their 7-0 win at Morecambe in the last round the Magpies’ biggest competitive away victory. Newcastle had three players both score and assist a goal in their win at Morecambe – Miguel Almirón, Jamaal Lascelles and Jacob Murphy.
Burnley vs Man City
Turf Moor, Burnley
Wednesday, 30-09-2020 @9pm
Ref: Andy Madley
Burnley could have defender James Tarkowski back for the Carabao Cup match with holders Manchester City. Tarkowski – linked with moves to Leicester and West Ham this summer – has yet to play this season with a toe injury. Dyche has had to start the season without Ben Mee, Tarkowski, Jack Cork, Ashley Barnes, Jay Rodriguez, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady but hopes to have them all back after the international break. The Clarets have so far signed just Dale Stephens from Brighton but Dyche says he won’t be panic buying in the last week of the window.
Man City are still without forwards Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, while Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo also remain sidelined through injury. Striker Liam Delap is likely to start after scoring his first goal for the club last week.
Burnley and Manchester City have only met in the League Cup once before, with City winning 6-0 across two legs in the first round in 1999-2000. Manchester City have lost just one of their last 24 matches against Burnley in all competitions (W17 D6), winning each of the last five by an aggregate score of 20-1. Burnley are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the first time since 2008-09, when they eliminated Chelsea on penalties at this stage. Manchester City have progressed from 28 of their last 30 League Cup ties, although their two eliminations in that time have been at the fourth round stage – in 2014-15 vs Newcastle and 2016-17 vs Man Utd. Man City’s Phil Foden has assisted in each of his last three League Cup starts – since the start of last season, no player has created more chances in open play in the competition than Foden (14), with the 20-year-old creating five in City’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the third round.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Man United
The American Express Community Stadium, East Sussex
Wednesday, 30-09-2020 @9:45pm
Ref: Graham Scott
Brighton boss Graham Potter will once again make wholesale changes in the Carabao Cup when Manchester United visit the Amex Stadium on Wednesday evening. Potter has changed his entire starting XI for victories over Portsmouth and Preston in the two previous rounds. Alexis Mac Allister, who scored against Pompey and North End, is available to feature after recovering from fatigue, while the likes of Dan Burn, Joel Veltman, Pascal Gross and Alireza Jahanbakhsh are likely to be given further opportunities to impress.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plans to again make several changes himself, saying his Manchester United side is likely to look similar to the line-up that beat Luton 3-0 a week ago. Solskjaer made 10 changes for that match, bringing in the likes of Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic and goalkeeper Dean Henderson, with Harry Maguire the only player to keep his place from the side that had played in the league. One player that will not be involved is Andreas Pereira, who is close to joining Lazio on loan for the rest of the season. Phil Jones is the only player currently sidelined for United.
This is just the second League Cup tie between Brighton and Manchester United, with the Red Devils winning 2-1 on aggregate over two legs in the second round in 1992-93. Brighton have lost their last five League Cup meetings with Premier League opponents, since beating Sunderland 1-0 in August 2011. Only once in their history have Brighton reached the League Cup quarter-final, doing so in 1978-79 before being eliminated by eventual winners Nottingham Forest. Manchester United have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four League Cup games, as many as they had in their previous 12 in the competition. Meanwhile, they’ve not failed to score in any of their last 16 League Cup games. Alireza Jahanbakhsh has been involved in 50% of Brighton’s League Cup goals this season, scoring twice and assisting one of the Seagull’s six goals.
Everton vs West Ham United
Goodison Park, Liverpool
Wednesday, 30-09-2020 @9:45pm
Ref: Darren England
Everton winger Theo Walcott is hoping to make a rare appearance in Wednesday night’s home Carabao Cup tie against West Ham. The former Arsenal man has not featured in the Premier League this season but manager Carlo Ancelotti does not expect him to leave the club. Fabian Delph is another fringe player who could feature but central defenders Mason Holgate (toe) and Jarrad Branthwaite (ankle) remain unavailable.
West Ham’s former Everton boss David Moyes missed the win over on Sunday after testing positive for coronavirus and he will again miss out. Alan Irvine will be on the touchline as Moyes oversees the game from home. Defender Issa Diop and midfielder Josh Cullen are also self isolating, while full-back Ryan Fredericks injured his hamstring against Wolves.
Everton have won both of their previous League Cup ties with West Ham, winning in the fourth round after a replay in 1983-84, and a quarter-final tie in 2007-08. West Ham have won two of their last five meetings with Everton in all competitions (D1 L2), as many as they had in their previous 25 against the Toffees (W2 D9 L14). West Ham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 24 League Cup meetings with Premier League opponents, with that coming in a 4-0 quarter-final win against Manchester United in 2010-11. Sebastien Haller has scored four goals in his two League Cup appearances for West Ham this season – the last player to score more in a single season of the competition for the Hammers was John Hartson in 1997-98 (6).
The other upcoming League Cup games
Thursday, 01-10-2020
-Brentford vs Fulham @7:30pm
-Aston Villa vs Stock City @9pm
-Liverpool vs Arsenal @9:45pm
Result on Tuesday, 29-09-2020
-Tottenham Hotspur 1(5)-1(4) Chelsea
