STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW: EFL Cup 2025/26

The EFL Cup has already seen major drama this season, with Manchester United’s infamous exit to Grimsby followed up by a wild late turnaround for Swansea to knock out Nottingham Forest, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

With the ever-expanding European calendar meaning that nine Premier League teams are involved with some sort of competition, there’s plenty of opportunity in this year’s EFL Cup despite the lesser status it holds amongst many of the elite sides in England.

Last season, Newcastle’s lack of European status undeniably helped them land a first trophy in 50 years, and there’s no doubt that plenty of teams should see this as an opportunity to take a run at a trophy where the traditionally dominant teams may have bigger aims.

With that in mind, Brighton catch the eye at 12/1 with starsports.bet. Fabian Hurzeler’s side should be highly motivated to give this a decent go with no European football to distract them. A third round tie against Barnsley gives them a nice platform to take a step forward and whilst they have only five points so far in the Premier League, they have faced Fulham, Everton (first visitors to Bradley Moore Dock), Manchester City, Bournemouth and Tottenham.

Some luck with the draw going forward may be needed but Brighton have shown themselves to be competitive at least and have a reasonably well stocked squad; a much-changed side was able to put Oxford to the sword 6-0 in the last round, and a much stronger squad may not be needed to take care of Barnsley. Assuming they make it through, Brighton should fear few sides, especially at the Amex and the picture could open up for them.

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EFL Cup 2025-26
Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Football HD, NOW TV, ITV Football and ITV X
Third Round: Weeks commencing 15 September and 22 September 2025
Fourth Round: Week commencing 27 October 2025
Quarter-Final: 15 December 2025
Semi-Final 1st Leg: Week commencing 12 January 2026
Semi-Final 2nd Leg: Week commencing 2 February 2026
Final: 22 March 2026

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PAST WINNERS & RUNNERS UP:
2024/25: Newcastle United beat Chelsea 2–1
2023/24: Liverpool beat Chelsea 1–0 (AET)
2022/23: Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2–0
2021/22: Liverpool beat Chelsea 0–0 (11–10 on pens)
2020/21: Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur 1–0
2019/20: Manchester City beat Aston Villa 2–1
2018/19: Manchester City beat Chelsea 0–0 (4–3 on pens)
2017/18: Manchester City beat Arsenal 3–0
2016/17: Manchester United beat Southampton 3–2
2015/16: Manchester City beat Liverpool 1–1 (3–1 on pens)

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Crystal Palace are likely to want to give the Europa Conference League a good go but a favourable draw would make the League Cup a viable target for them, and it would be no surprise to see Oliver Glasner’s side go well. Last season’s FA Cup winners may understandably focus on Europe, but they did well to keep most of their squad, including Marc Guehi, and if they find it easy to cope with the Conference League, then this competition should get pretty serious consideration. They needed penalties to see off Millwall in the third round but Glasner made only four changes from the side that played Sunderland in the Premier League only four days earlier and their big game record speaks for itself, so 12/1 with starsports.bet is worth chancing, especially with their hat already in the ring for the next round.

Favourites Liverpool are tempting given the sheer attacking firepower they’ve added, although defensively, they do not look as strong and it’s not hard to imagine them going all in for their league defence and European glory. Runners-up last year, they are respected and the team to beat, but others might provide more value.

Manchester City have a deep squad, but they appear to be in mid transition still and whilst they should improve as the season gets on, other sides have caught upto them in the last two campaigns. At 11/2 they can be passed up for now.

Arsenal will be desperate for a trophy, but already injuries have begun to pile up quickly and the Premier and Champions League will be the main focus. Chelsea make more appeal at 8/1, with Enzo Maresca having previous experience of using a massive squad across two competitions last season. Chelsea have experienced a frustrating last week but they have improved from last season, have a kind third round draw, and the resources to field nearly two full sides.

Whilst they did lose 2-1 at Manchester United on Saturday, Enzo’s bench consisted of Robert Sánchez, Marc Cucurella, Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Andrey Santos, Estêvão, Filip Jörgensen, and João Pedro, and regardless of the timing, Chelsea will field a competitive side with backup options. The Champions and Premier Leagues will be the main aim – the same case for all the major players – but the Blues are hardly likely to turn down more silverware if the opportunity arises.

Newcastle deserve respect as last season’s winners, but their squad numbers could be stretched thin. Tottenham have added nicely over the window, although they will be adapting to the expanded Champions League for the first time and a top four finish might well be the aim at White Hart Lane. Brentford did well to knock out Bournemouth, but the bigger sides will have a squad advantage over them later on. Everton have improved a great deal under David Moyes but they’ve lacked a cutting edge going forward and Wolves lack the quality to compete at the sharp end based on what’s been seen so far, a comment that applies also to Burnley, with only Premier League teams seriously considered.

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RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Chelsea 2 pts each/way at 8/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Crystal Palace 1.5 pt each/way at 12/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Brighton 1 pt each/way at 12/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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PROFIT/LOSS (SEP 2025): -4.98 points

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