Tottenham showed great spirit to get past Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Tuesday and will now hope for a smooth Europa League success against Maccabi Haifa. The Israeli outfit upset Rostov of Russia in the previous round of qualifiers but are expected to be out of their depth in this contest.
Steve Bruce has made no secret of his desire to do well in the EFL Cup so it will be disappointing if Newcastle can’t brush aside Newport in round four. County have enjoyed some good cup runs in recent years, but they were aided by a poor Rodney Parade pitch and vociferous home support.
As the world of sport continues to recover from the disruption of the first wave of COVID-19 that brought it to a virtual halt in the Spring, we’ve picked out five major sports and looked at how they responded, with regards to making changes to this year’s sporting calendar.
Five of the last seven UEFA Super Cup matches have gone to extra-time and Sevilla will be keen to give Bayern Munich a tough work-out in Budapest. The Europa League winners drew with fellow Spaniards Barcelona in 2015 and Real Madrid a year later, before losing out in an additional half an hour.
Tottenham look well placed to ease past KF Shkendija of North Macedonia in a Europa League qualifier being played behind closed doors. Spurs are coming off a big win at Southampton and were given extra preparation time for this trip when Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie at Orient was called off.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has not taken the EFL Cup too seriously in the past but would no doubt like to get past Lincoln this week. The Reds have a number of new recruits and fringe squad members who should benefit from some playing time in this competition ahead of bigger tests.
Boyhood Everton fan Joey Barton will have Fleetwood fired up for an EFL Cup tie with the Toffees at Highbury but this is a tough task for Town. The visitors have started the new campaign in cracking form and will be keen to maintain that momentum with another win on the Fylde Coast.
Man Utd looked woefully short of match sharpness in their Premier League opener and Luton are a value bet to take advantage in the EFL Cup. The Hatters are flying high in the Championship, have already battled through two rounds of this competition and will be fired up for this tie.
Jose Mourinho faces a tricky juggling act as Tottenham visit Leyton Orient in the third round of the EFL Cup. Spurs must play this match just two days before travelling to North Macedonia to face KF Shkendija in a Europa League qualifier, but may still have the strength in depth to cope.
Both of these south-coast teams have much more important matters to deal with than the EFL Cup this season and could be forgiven for not putting too much emphasis on Thursday night’s game. Brighton once again start the campaign aiming for Premier League survival while Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett is under pressure to earn automatic promotion out of League One.
Nottingham Forest and Cardiff are both expected to be in the promotion mix this season but have made a slow start ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. They were both beaten on the opening weekend and were knocked out in the first round of the EFL Cup so there is pressure on them to avoid a third straight defeat.
Talk of Gareth Bale returning to the club is dominating the headlines for Tottenham but they also have a Europa League match in Bulgaria to focus on. It is little more than 15 months since Spurs were appearing in the Champions League final yet they now find themselves having to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League.
Lincoln Red Imps are eyeing an Old Firm double when they host Rangers in Europa League qualifying. The team from Gibraltar famously beat Celtic in Brendan Rodgers’ first match in charge in 2016, although the Bhoys made amends in the return leg in Glasgow.
Everton will hope a smart summer in the transfer market sees them challenging for silverware this season and they begin their EFL Cup campaign with the visit of League Two side Salford. The Toffees enjoyed an impressive start to the new campaign at the weekend with a 1-0 victory at Tottenham and look to have recruited well under Carlo Ancelotti.