The draw for the 3rd round of the English League Cup has been held. At this stage, 32 teams from various divisions take part. The matches will be played in the second half of September, over the course of two weeks.
This stage is a phase where top clubs rotate, while representatives of lower divisions turn into “giant-killers”: small mistakes come at a high price, razor-sharp focus is required regarding every episode.
The draw produced the following pairings:
"Port Vale" – "Arsenal"
"Swansea" – "Nottingham Forest"
"Lincoln City" – "Chelsea"
"Tottenham" – "Doncaster"
"Brentford" – "Aston Villa"
"Huddersfield" – "Manchester City"
"Liverpool" – "Southampton"
"Newcastle" – "Bradford"
"Sheffield Wednesday" – "Grimsby Town"
"Wolverhampton" – "Everton"
"Crystal Palace" – "Millwall"
"Burnley" – "Cardiff City"
"Wrexham" – "Reading"
"Wigan" – "Wycombe"
"Barnsley" – "Brighton"
"Fulham" – "Cambridge"
In one of these polished fixtures on the calendar, Huddersfield will try to stop the grand Manchester City, while for Port Vale the test against Arsenal is excitement equal to the derby of the year. Wolverhampton — Everton, as well as Brentford — Aston Villa, may turn into a battle of strict discipline and details by Premier League standards. Crystal Palace — Millwall is a principled London junction, and in Fulham — Cambridge the probability of an unexpected surprise is high.
In short, the second half of September over two weeks will be remembered for dramatic evenings and possible sensations. Whichever team manages rotation correctly, remains faithful on set pieces, and finds end-phase accuracy — the ticket to the next stage will be its yield.
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