Manchester City and Brentford battle at the Etihad Stadium
The first of three all-Premier League EFL Cup quarter-finals, Manchester City and Brentford do battle at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Sky Blues eased past Swansea City 3-1 to reach the last eight of the competition, while the Bees put five past Grimsby Town without reply.
While there are Premier League and Champions League trophies to be won, the EFL Cup may not rank high on the priority lists of Man City supporters, but Pep Guardiola and co have former glories to restore in this particular competition.
Memorably winning six of the eight editions of the competition between 2013-14 and 2020-21, City have not claimed another EFL Cup honour since defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the latter final; in fact, they have not even been beyond the quarter-finals since.
Progression to the semis on Wednesday would therefore be a wonderful omen for the Sky Blues, who have gone on to lift the trophy after winning each of their last six quarter-final ties, although they were dumped out at this stage by Southampton in 2022-23.
EFL Cup glory would hold much greater significance for Brentford than Man City, and that ought to be reflected in the two teams’ starting lineups, but Andrews’s big-hitters were nevertheless largely found wanting at home to Leeds.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Newcastle, Fulham lock horns at St James’ Park
St James’ Park will play host to an intriguing EFL Cup affair this evening, as Premier League rivals Newcastle United and Fulham lock horns in the quarter-finals.
Newcastle have beaten Bradford City and Tottenham Hotspur in the competition thus far, while Fulham have overcome Bristol City, Cambridge United and Wycombe Wanderers.
Newcastle will enter Wednesday’s match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in the Premier League, with the result leaving the Magpies down in 12th spot in the Premier League table, four points off fifth-placed Crystal Palace.
The loss to their biggest rivals was a major setback for Newcastle, and Eddie Howe‘s side have struggled for consistency in the opening months of the 2025-26 campaign.
The Magpies are the holders of the EFL Cup, having beaten Liverpool in the 2024-25 final, with the competition bringing their first domestic trophy since the 1954-55 FA Cup.
Newcastle recorded a 4-1 victory over Bradford City in their first match in this season’s competition before beating Tottenham 2-0 last time out, and Howe’s team will now be aiming to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the competition.
The Magpies have only ever faced Fulham on three previous occasions in the League Cup, with their last two meetings coming in 1981, and it was the London club that won 4-1 on aggregate over the two legs of the second-round fixture.
Fulham are more than capable of picking up a huge win on Wednesday, as Newcastle have been inconsistent this season. That said, with home advantage, we are expecting the Magpies to secure their spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Real Madrid tackle Talavera in Copa del Rey
Real Madrid will be expecting to book their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey when they tackle CF Talavera in the competition today.
Los Blancos are naturally one of the favourites to claim the prize this season, and it would be one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history if they were eliminated in the round of 32 by their opponents, who play their league football in Spain’s third tier.
Talavera have impressed in the Copa del Rey this season, beating Rayo Majadahonda 4-1 in the first round of the tournament at the end of August before running out 2-1 winners over Malaga in the second round of the competition at the start of December.
Alejandro Sandroni’s side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Merida AD, with the result leaving them seventh in their domestic table, boasting 24 points from 16 games.
The home side, who were only founded in 2011, have never played higher than Spain’s third tier, and they secured a return to that level from the fourth tier last term.
Real Madrid will not be in the mood to hand out any favours in this match, with head coach Xabi Alonso needing positive results to hold off questions on his future.
Talavera can take encouragement from the fact that Real Madrid will rest a number of important players on Wednesday, but the team will still be full of quality, and we are expecting Alonso’s side to comfortably book their spot in the next round.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Intercontinental Cup final: PSG take on Flamengo
Making their first appearance in the Intercontinental Cup final, Paris Saint-Germain will take on Flamengo for the title on Wednesday at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.
As reigning Champions League winners, Les Parisiens earned an automatic berth into this game while the Brazilians defeated Pyramids 2-0 to claim the Challenger Cup and earn a spot in the final.
A season after winning nearly everything possible, the French giants are discovering how difficult it is to lift trophies yet again.
They were denied their first world trophy over the summer when Chelsea beat them in the Club World Cup final (3-0), while they are behind Lens in the Ligue 1 title race by a single point after 16 matchdays.
Luis Enrique’s men enter this encounter on a three-match unbeaten run across all competitions, posting two clean sheets over that stretch.
PSG have points in eight of their last nine competitive games played outside the Parc des Princes, but dropped points on four of those occasions.
It has been a long time since Flamengo have been this close to the Intercontinental Cup, but they earned their place in the final, putting the Egyptians on their heels from the early going.
Having played so many elite teams and being pushed domestically should serve as a message to PSG not to be complacent, something we believe will enable the French side to be at their best for this match.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
English League Cup Fixtures
Quarter-finals
Manchester City 19:30 Brentford
Spanish Copa Del Rey Fixtures
Last 32
Cultural Leonesa 17:00 Levante
Atlético Baleares 18:00 Atletico Madrid
