After the Capital One Cup third round matches concluded last night, the draw was held for the fourth round (the pre-quarter-finals). The teams that have qualified for the next round will take on each other in a one-legged tie in October to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition. Five of the eight match-ups will see an all-EPL affair with the last three non-EPL side avoiding each other in the draw.
Defending champions Chelsea were drawn with Stoke City and the match will be played at the Britannia Stadium. Chelsea were easily able to get past League One side Walsall as they beat the third tier team 4-1 at the Bescot Stadium. It will be a return to the Britannia for goalkeeper Asmir Begovic who spent five-and-a-half seasons with the Potters. Stoke City had beaten Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage thanks to a goal from Peter Crouch.
Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, who beat Newcastle 1-0, will be up against Arsenal. The Gunners beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in a tense North London Derby at White Hart Lane with Mathieu Flamini scoring an unlikely brace. Arsenal will have to make the trip north as the match will be played at Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium.
Manchester City and Crystal Palace will face each other again for the second time in as many months. The Citizens had defeated Palace 1-0 earlier this month thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho’s late winner and will be put to the test against Alan Pardew’s side. City had beaten Sunderland 4-1 in the third round at the Stadium of Light while Palace beat Charlton Athletic with an identical scoreline.
Liverpool, who were made to go the distance to beat Carlisle United 3-2 in a penalty shootout, will face Bournemouth at Anfield. Bournemouth also needed to see off Preston in a penalty shootout to advance to the fourth round.
Manchester United easily swept aside Ipswich Town with a 3-0 scoreline to reach the fourth round and they will face Middlesbrough. Ipswich had made 11 changes to their starting lineup and never looked to threaten the Red Devils. Meanwhile, Middlesbrough beat Wolves 3-0 to reach the next round. The other fixtures see Southampton take on Aston Villa, Everton hosting Norwich City while Leicester City travel to Hull City.
the matches will be played in the last week of October (27th and 28th).
Capital One Cup fourth-round draw
- Stoke City vs Chelsea
- Sheffield Wednesday vs Arsenal
- Manchester United vs Middlesbrough
- Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
- Liverpool vs Bournemouth
- Everton vs Norwich City
- Southampton vs Aston Villa
- Hull City vs Leicester City