• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2024-2025 Cup thread (Carabao, F.A.)

Ed H in Pasadena

Ed H in Pasadena

Well-known member
Carabao Cup holders Liverpool will begin the defence of their crown at home to West Ham in the third round as a seeding system was introduced in the competition for the first time. The six English sides taking part in the Champions League and Europa League were all seeded in the draw, meaning they would not have to face each other at this stage.

The changes to this year's third-round draw were brought in following the expansion of the Champions League and Europa League, which will see clubs play a minimum of two extra matches.

Ties will take place in the weeks commencing 16 and 23 September, with Champions League and Europa League fixtures also scheduled during this period.

Carabao Cup third-round ties

Liverpool v West Ham
Manchester City v Watford
Arsenal v Bolton
Manchester United v Barnsley
Wycombe v Aston Villa
Coventry v Tottenham
Walsall v Leicester
Brentford v Leyton Orient
Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday
Preston v Fulham
Everton v Southampton
QPR v Crystal Palace
Stoke v Fleetwood
Brighton v Wolves
AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle
Chelsea v Barrow
 
Last edited:
Can I say how delighted I was to see one of my favorite non-LFC players, Emi Buendia, score his first goal since his return from that awful knee injury. And on a header, no less. 👏👏👏👏👏
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
Can I say how delighted I was to see one of my favorite non-LFC players, Emi Buendia, score his first goal since his return from that awful knee injury. And on a header, no less. 👏👏👏👏👏
Click to expand...
You and me both. Probably my favorite Villan. He also scores a shocking number of headers despite having both my height and my jumping ability. He's just really good at finding space.

Emery finally did some squad rotation, but Onana still started his forth game in ten days and looked it as well. It feels bad to criticize a man who is clearly the best manager Villa has ever had, but squad rotation is pretty clearly his blindspot.
 
Today’s results

Arsenal 5-1 Bolton
Liverpool 5-1 West Ham

Arsenal gave a few academy products their senior debuts, including 16 year old keeper Jack Porter. Ethan Nwaneri had a brace in a MOM performance. The Hammers not only lost the match, they lost Edson Alvarez to a red card, so he’ll miss Saturday’s match at Brentford. Mo Salah sandwiched a goal between a Diogo Jota brace and Cody Gakpo brace, in the 90th and 93rd minutes.
 
VinatieriDefinesClutch said:
You and me both. Probably my favorite Villan. He also scores a shocking number of headers despite having both my height and my jumping ability. He's just really good at finding space.

Emery finally did some squad rotation, but Onana still started his forth game in ten days and looked it as well. It feels bad to criticize a man who is clearly the best manager Villa has ever had, but squad rotation is pretty clearly his blindspot.
Click to expand...
Not a lot of options in midfield right now, especially in that hinge role
 
For some reason, Emery wants to win those games even if we don't care. They DID play a fair number of academy guys either way but not a lot of their kids fit that hybrid MF role, either honestly. It's a bit of an organizational soft spot right now.
 
andyt said:
Today’s results

Arsenal 5-1 Bolton
Liverpool 5-1 West Ham

Arsenal gave a few academy products their senior debuts, including 16 year old keeper Jack Porter. Ethan Nwaneri had a brace in a MOM performance. The Hammers not only lost the match, they lost Edson Alvarez to a red card, so he’ll miss Saturday’s match at Brentford. Mo Salah sandwiched a goal between a Diogo Jota brace and Cody Gakpo brace, in the 90th and 93rd minutes.
Click to expand...
That 5-1 score line flattered us. 1-1 at the half, scored early in the second, but the Hammers kept coming and only a couple of nice stops by Caoimhín Kelleher kept the score line 2-1. When Mo scored with about 15 minutes left, we finally had a chance to breathe. And really made up for Cody, who scored his brace in just three minutes. The second was classic Cody (even with the deflection): winning the ball with his strength, turning defenders and firing off a hard shot that got past Fabianski. So nice to have him as an option off the bench. With Chiesa playing well as he rounds into form, the depth of our attack is going to cause so many problems for teams this season.
 
This hasn't been updated in a minute. The Carabao Cup final is set for March: the holders, Liverpool, will be taking on Newcastle at Wembley. Both teams easily dispatched of the semifinal opponents: 4-0 on aggregate for Newcastle, and Liverpool overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit to win at home, 4-1 on aggregate. That was far less troublesome (zero shots on goal by Spurs?) than I'd imagined, though if Son Heung-mi's blast hadn't slammed off the crossbar it would've made for a much more intense last 15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, the fourth round of the F.A. Cup began today. The featured fixtures?

Friday, Feb, 7
Game Time (ET) TV channel/ Live Stream
Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City

Saturday, Feb, 8
Leeds United vs. Millwall 7:15 a.m. ESPN+
Leyton Orient vs. Manchester City 7:15 a.m. ESPN+
Preston North End vs. Wycombe Wanderers 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Wigan Athletic vs. Fulham 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Stoke City vs. Cardiff City 10:00 a.m ESPN+
Everton vs. AFC Bournemouth 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Southampton vs. Burnley 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Coventry City vs. Ipswich Town 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Birmingham City vs. Newcastle United 12:45 p.m. ESPN+
Brighton vs. Chelsea 3 p.m. ESPN+

Sunday, Feb. 9
Blackburn Rovers vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers 7:30 a.m. ESPN+
Plymouth Argyle vs. Liverpool 10:00 a.m. ESPN+
Aston Villa vs. Tottenham Hotspur 12:35 p.m. ESPN+

Monday, Feb. 10
Doncaster Rovers vs. Crystal Palace 2:45 p.m. ESPN+

Tuesday, Feb. 11
Exeter City vs. Nottingham Forest 3 p.m. ESPN+
 
BTW, planning to go to the local supporters' pub to see the match. One of our group was born in the Plymouth area and they're his "hometown" team, but he grew up in Merseyside and attended matches from his youth. He's always considered Plymouth his "other" team and claims to feel a bit conflicted. We were joking about trying to get him one of those half-and-half scarves for the match. Not sure if anyone found one (I didn't the day after we found out we'd be playing them) but it would be really funny to see him walk in with one. He's been particularly outspoken about how stupid those scarves are. 😁
 
VinatieriDefinesClutch said:
United win on possibly the most egregious uncalled offside I've ever seen. For all my issues with the implementation of VAR, this is exactly why it exists.
Click to expand...
Honestly, if the system can't get THAT right, then it's unreliable to the point of uselessness. Just throw the thing into the Irish Sea and call it a day. Then in ten years when some 20 year old complains that "technology could have gotten that call correct," show them the clip of that offsides.
 
There was no VAR available in this round of the cup. If there was VAR, even with how horrible it is, there's no way it's not immediately overturned. This was so blatantly obvious that the only explanations are gross negligence/incompetence or match fixing. That lino should probably never work again.
 
VinatieriDefinesClutch said:
There was no VAR available in this round of the cup. If there was VAR, even with how horrible it is, there's no way it's not immediately overturned. This was so blatantly obvious that the only explanations are gross negligence/incompetence or match fixing. That lino should probably never work again.
Click to expand...
Oh, got it.

I'd still throw the whole thing in the Irish Sea and start from scratch in another generation or so. Between the technology and the idiots manning the consols, it's just not working.
 
The issue with VAR is they let the refs run it completely and they never wanted it in the first place. It's like when the police investigate themselves and always seem to find they did nothing wrong. The reason that video replay, while it has faults, is more positive than negative in American sports is because it's run by the leagues. The people running it have to have the best interest of the league in mind, not the other refs.
 
That Liverpool game was rough….would have loved to face them relatively healthy (especially at CB) but it is what it is. Game isn’t about your best XI…..it’s about your entire squad. Hats off to the champs.

should be a great final with Newcastle.
 
Here’s to an entertaining FA Cup game today Villa, and hopefully we both come out of it healthy. We’ve had some great matches in recent years, so hopefully today will be another.
 
Liverpool played just enough of veterans that they should have won, but they played like crap and Preston wanted it more. Getting a weekend off late in the season when they are playing for the Premiership and Championship titles should be important. Everton, midweek, should be facing a MUCH stronger and focused squad. First real bump in Slott’s first season, curious to see how he responds.
 
Martinez stop on Son was one heck of a play, I’ve seen Sonny finish from there so many times with clinical precision and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a keeper make their way across goal that quickly at such a great angle to shut him down in a manner that almost seemed easy if you didn’t know better.

Remarkable play by Martinez to keep it 1-0 Villa.



…and as I type that Kinski came up with a pair of beauty saves of his own to keep us in it. (After kinda blowing it on the opening goal….so nice to see him rebounding)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top