#carabao-cup

#carabao-cup

League One side Cardiff City will host Premier League outfit Chelsea in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The Bluebirds' reward for seeing off Wrexham in the fourth round is a blockbuster clash against Enzo Maresca's side after they survived a late comeback to beat Wolves 4-3. Meanwhile, Arsenal host Crystal Palace in a repeat of Sunday's Premier League game and indeed last season's Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

This might not be a local derby but the 'north vs south' rivalry still burns intensely. Wrexham is credited as being the birthplace of Welsh football, though the sport is now officially run from the capital down south in Cardiff. There is no love lost between the two sides, even though this is their first competitive meeting since 2004. Up until recently, Cardiff have been the greater force in modern times, even gracing the Premier League,

After more than 21 years without facing one another, Cardiff had to wait a little longer to reacquaint themselves with their Welsh rivals, as Wrexham completely failed to turn up for the first half. The Bluebirds' victory came as little of a shock, if anything their progress to the quarterfinals should have been far easier. Yousef Salech put the League One side into a 13th-minute lead, but Cardiff missed numerous chances to finish off the derby before it began in earnest.

Yeah, obviously, the pressure is definitely ramping up. As you said, Liverpool's form has been nowhere near good enough. That's six defeats out of their last seven games, they got that win in the Champions League last week and people though that might give them a springboard. They then lost to Brentford in the league, and it was a youthful side that lost to Palace in the cup, and from the outside it looked like Slot had written the game off.

I can play more in this competition, but I want to show the manager I can play more in the Premier League, said the 12.5m signing from Juventus. The coach gave me chances in the first four games and I think I showed I can help the team. I'm not in the Champions League squad, but I am focused on the Carabao Cup.

Alexander Isak started making repayments on his British transfer record fee with his first goal for Liverpool but it required a late effort from centre-forward rival Hugo Ekitike to beat Southampton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup. However, the young Frenchman's insistence in over-celebrating by removing his shirt to show his name on the back to the cameras was a costly mistake as, having already been booked, he was subsequently sent off.

What do you mean seven Premier League teams, including Aston Villa and Manchester United, are already out of the competition? Fair point. But it's not the point, so pipe down. The point is that Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and the holders Newcastle who between them have won 10 of the last 12 League Cups are among the clubs joining the competition this week. Chelsea and Liverpool are first up with matches against Lincoln and Southampton respectively.

Huddersfield missed out on a League One play-off spot last season, finishing 10th and 14 points behind the top six. With Lee Grant now at the helm, the Terriers are targeting a stronger promotion push this time around. So far, Huddersfield have made a promising start - winning five, drawing one, and losing three of their opening nine matches to sit fifth in the table. However, their recent form has dipped, with only one win from the last four league games.