Brentford vs Fulham
Brentford Community Stadium, Middlesex
Thursday, 01-10-2020 @7:30pm
Ref: Jonathan Moss
Brentford winger Said Benrahma is in line to make his first start of the season in against Fulham. Full-back Rico Henry misses out for the hosts with a hamstring injury.
Fulham will be without midfielders Mario Lemina and Harrison Reed for their trip across London. Defender Kenny Tete may also be missing after going off injured in Monday’s Premier League defeat to Aston Villa.
The tie comes less than two months after the sides met in the Championship play-off final and Brentford are hoping they can exact revenge for their Wembley.
Brentford have lost just one of their last six meetings with Fulham in all competitions (W3 D2), losing 1-2 in the Championship play-off final in August. Brentford have progressed from two of their three League Cup ties against Fulham, doing so in the first round in both 1988-89 and 1992-93. However, they did lose the last such meeting 0-1 in August 2014. Brentford are looking to reach the League Cup quarter-final for the first time – their two previous fourth round appearances saw them eliminated in 1982-83 and 2010-11. Fulham haven’t reached the League Cup quarter-final since the 2004-05 campaign, with this just their fourth appearance in the fourth round since then. Brentford have seen off Premier League opponents in rounds two and three so far – the Bees had only progressed from two of their previous 22 League Cup ties against top-flight opposition before this season.
Aston Villa vs Stock City
Villa Park, Birmingham
Thursday, 01-10-2020 @9pm
Ref: Robert Jones
This is the first League Cup meeting between Aston Villa and Stoke since October 1962. Stoke are unbeaten in their past seven away matches against Villa in all competitions (W3 D4). Villa are looking to reach the League Cup quarter-final in consecutive seasons for the first time doing so in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Since re-joining the Premier League in 2019-20, Villa have won their three League Cup matches against non-Premier League sides by an aggregate score of 12-2. Stoke are looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2015-16. campaign. Since the start of last season, Villa have scored 26 goals in the competition.
New Villa signing Ross Barkley, who has joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea, is cup-tied and will not feature. Goalkeeper Tom Heaton and Brazil forward Wesley continue to recover from long-term knee injuries. Defender Bjorn Engels is out, while Jed Steer or Norway’s Orjan Nyland could start in goal. Midfielders Henri Lansbury, Jota, and Jacob Ramsey are all likely to start for the hosts along with forward Keinan Davis.
Belgian winger Thibaud Verlinden remains out for Stoke because of a serious knee injury. Youngsters Tyrese Campbell, 20, Harry Souttar, 21, and Nathan Collins, 19, are all expected to feature for the visitors. Joe Allen is a long-term absentee and Ryan Shawcross has not featured since June because of injury.
Liverpool vs Arsenal
Anfield Stadium, Liverpool
Thursday, 01-10-2020
Ref: Kevin Friend
Following Liverpool’s 3-1 come-back victory over Arsenal on Monday, the two sides will meet again on Thursday in the Carabao Cup.
Both sides are expected to make wholesale changes for the game.
The Reds will be without new signing Thiago Alcantara, who has tested positive for coronavirus and is now self-isolating. Skipper Jordan Henderson will once again miss out as he continues to recover from the knock he picked up in the 2-0 win at Chelsea on 20 September.
Arsenal defenders Cedric Soares and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have returned to full training following calf issues and could feature. Iceland goalkeeper Alex Runarsson could also make his debut in the game.
This is the second consecutive season that Liverpool will be taking on Arsenal in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The Reds progressed to the quarter-finals, winning the penalty shootout after the game ended in a 5-5 draw. Thursday’s game will see Liverpool take on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup for the 16th time, making it the most played fixture in the competition’s history. Arsenal have progressed to the next stage from 14 of their previous 17 Carabao Cup fourth round ties. Liverpool’s last three Carabao Cup matches have seen 24 goals scored (12 both for and against), with 90 shots attempted across three games. Divock Origi has scored nine goals in his last seven starts in the Carabao Cup, including a brace against Arsenal in last season’s fourth round.
League Cup recent Results
Tuesday, 29-09-2020
-Tottenham Hotspur 1(5)-1(4) Chelsea
Wednesday, 30-09-2020
-Newport County 1(4)-1(5) Newcastle United
-Burnley 0-3 Man City
-Brighton 0-3 Man United
-Everton 4-1 West Ham United
