The Carabao Cup is now in full swing and the Premier League teams that are in a European competition have now entered the tournament as the third round stage begins. In a tournament where EFL teams usually defy the odds, there are 16 teams from either the Championship, League One or League Two looking to make it into the fourth round.
Carabao Cup Third Round Preview
Round Three’s Big Games
Oxford United v Manchester City
Manchester City will travel to League One side Oxford United in the first game of their Carabao Cup defence. The Cityzens won the trophy last season with ease, defeating Arsenal in the final.
Oxford have won two games in the competition so far to get to this stage. In the first round, they were 2-0 victors over Coventry City and they eased to a 3-0 win over Newport County in Round Two.
It’s normally not uncommon to predict an upset in these sorts of games, but such is the quality of Manchester City’s side, who have scored five or more goals in two games already this season, it’s hard to see this going any other way than a win for the Premier League outfit.
There’s no reason that Karl Robinson’s side cannot give them a game. Oxford, after all, have previous experience of giant-killings. The U’s defeated Swansea City in the 2015/16 FA Cup when they were a League Two side and the Swans were in the top tier.
This should be a comfortable win for City regardless of what sort of side they put out. Oxford’s run looks set to end here, unfortunately.
Manchester United v Derby County
Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho have come up against each other many times in their careers, but this is the first time it will happen with both of them as managers. Lampard takes his Derby County side to Old Trafford looking to cause a real upset in the Carabao Cup.
Derby’s last victory over Manchester United was a 1-0 success in the semi-finals of this competition in 2009. Kris Commons scored the only goal but United went on to win the second leg 4-2. Since then, the only meetings have been in the FA Cup, with United coming out on top on all three occasions.
The Rams have scored six goals so far in this competition, all without reply and both of their games were away from home. The first round saw them win 2-0 at Oldham while their second-round victory at Hull finished 4-0.
Were this game being played at Derby instead of in Manchester, an upset could’ve been on the cards but Manchester United should be far too strong for Lampard’s side. It won’t be easy for the hosts, but they’ll come through this one unscathed.
Liverpool v Chelsea
This heavyweight clash sees the Premier League leaders take on third-place in the same league as Liverpool, who have won six out six in the league so far, host Chelsea, who are unbeaten.
The Reds have a decent record against their visitors, losing only three of the last ten fixtures between the two. They lost last time out, though; a Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge and their last League Cup fixture against the Blues also ended in defeat back in 2015.
This has the potential to be the game of the round and is a tough one to call, but Liverpool will be riding a wave of momentum following their six league wins and Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain. If either of them are going to edge it, expect it to be Jurgen Klopp’s side.
All Fixtures
Tuesday
Blackpool v Queens Park Rangers
Bournemouth v Blackburn Rovers
Burton Albion v Burnley
Millwall v Fulham
Oxford United v Manchester City
Preston North End v Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City
Wycombe Wanderers v Norwich City
Manchester United v Derby County
West Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace
Wednesday
Arsenal v Brentford
Liverpool v Chelsea
Nottingham Forest v Stoke City
West Ham United v Macclesfield Town
Tuesday 2nd October
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