The EFL Cup continues tonight with three thrilling matches featuring all Premier League teams. Arsenal will face Crystal Palace at the Emirates, Newcastle welcomes The Bees to St James Park, and under pressure, Southampton face high-flying Liverpool.
The first match will see two London rivals meet at the Emirates, with a place in the semifinals of the EFL Cup at stake. Arsenal will be eager to get back on track after two consecutive draws against Fulham and more recently Everton.
The Gunners have been playing some pretty football at times but for all their ball possession they lack creativity in the final third. Mikel Arteta must find a way to freshen up his attacking department as it looks like the goal well has dried up.
Martin Odegaard has been in exceptional form since his return from a lengthy ankle injury, and although he is a super talent, he can’t do everything alone. Arteta needs to get more out of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz as the German has gone off the boil a bit.
Crystal Palace will be full of confidence ahead of their clash with Arsenal, having dismantled fierce rivals Brighton 3-1 at the Amex on Sunday thanks to an Ismaila Sarr masterclass. A win for Palace will see them advance to the semifinal stage and match their best-ever result in the competition after appearing in the semifinals of the EFL Cup in 1995, 2001, and 2012.
Despite the Eagles occupying 15th place, in the Premier League standings, the win at the Amex extended their unbeaten streak to five league games. Oliver Glasner will be delighted with his team’s recent performances and will back his troops to take this challenge head-on.
In the second fixture of the evening, Eddie Howe and Newcastle will be looking to redeem themselves against The Bees who defeated them 4-2 two weeks ago at the G-Tech. The Magpies have the quality within their ranks to get revenge, especially at St James Park.
After a winless run of four games in the league, Newcastle secured a massive three points against Leicester City which has pulled a blanket over the critics for now. Howe will be determined to regain their confidence and momentum regardless of the result tonight.
Alexander Isak has lived up to all the attention he created for himself as one of the rising stars in world football and has exceeded expectations given, how difficult it is in the Premier League. With seven goals and four assists in the league, Isak has been the talisman for Newcastle and certainly one to keep an eye on, in this exciting encounter.
Thomas Frank has been a spectacular coach, mentor, and fully committed to Brentford in the Premier League since gaining promotion from the Championship in 2021. To further validate the impact Frank has on The Bees, they have made their best start to a Premier League season, sitting five points short of the top four heading into the midway point.
This will be the first Premier League side that Frank will meet thus far in the competition, and despite their recent 2-1 loss to Chelsea, they will be confident and prepared to face Newcastle again with the hopes of the same outcome two weeks ago at the G-Tech.
The Bees were knocked out at this stage last season, going down to eventual finalists Chelsea. A win here will see Brentford equal their best performance in this competition, which was a semifinal appearance in 2020/21.
The final fixture of the evening will see relegation favourites Southampton entertain league leaders Liverpool. The sacking of Russel Martin was so unfortunate as Southampton have shown glimpses of quality in every fixture but have not had enough to cross the finish line.
Simon Rusk has taken over as interim coach for the time being and has been given the toughest start possible. Rusk will need to find a way to motivate his men and ready them for a tough evening of football. A fully committed team performance and game plan are required to prevent Liverpool from running riot at St Mary’s.
New manager Arne Slot has been making headlines since his appointment and has answered all those who doubted his ability to take Liverpool a step higher after the exceptional job Jurgen Klopp did with the Reds in his tenure with the club.
The Dutchman has breezed through the competition so far despite facing top-flight opponents. Slot has the luxury of rotating his squad with all the quality he has on offer, making him one of the favourites to go on and win the competition.
The atmosphere around Anfield has everybody working closely with each other towards one goal with hunger and determination. Slot has found the right balance in the squad and has managed to get their main man Mohamed Salah firing on all cylinders again.
Salah could possibly go down as the best player to don the Liverpool jersey if he continues to play at this high level. With his 13 goals and 9 assists so far for the season, Salah is definitely a man to keep an eye on along with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo.
Written by Marc Strydom.