Hey there! EFL Cup action ramps up on Wednesday as several Premier League heavy-hitters target a spot in the quarterfinals, while the U.S. women’s national team wrap up their international break with a friendly against New Zealand. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest ahead of a jam-packed day.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, Oct. 29
🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Udinese, 1:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Arsenal vs. Brighton, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Swansea vs. Manchester City, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Wolves vs. Chelsea, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Newcastle vs. Tottenham, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇩🇪 DFB Pokal: Koln vs. Bayern Munich, 3:45 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🌎 Women’s friendly: USWNT vs. New Zealand, 8 p.m. ➡️ TNT
🇺🇸 MLS Cup playoffs: LAFC vs. Austin FC, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV
⚽ The Forward Line
🔴 Arne Slot attempts to solve Liverpool’s problems (again)
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Liverpool’s crisis period has extended into another week following Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Brentford, making Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie against Crystal Palace a must-win in more ways than one. Booking a spot in the quarterfinals may be the Reds’ top priority but perhaps more importantly, the match offers yet another chance for manager Arne Slot to correct course – and maybe make some tough calls along the way.
A month after a Premier League defeat at Palace kicked off a run of one win in six, Liverpool’s problems are clear to see. Their defense is vulnerable and though they were able to survive those issues by outscoring the opponent in the early weeks of the season, their offense is no longer functioning at the peak of its perceived powers. Slot’s problem-solving so far has not quite worked, the manager trialing some different formations and personnel to little avail. The Reds’ wide variety of new signings have had patchy starts to life at Anfield and the veterans seem to be struggling in equal measure, with James Benge arguing that the root of their problems is the team’s flimsy structure.
- Benge: “[Virgil] Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate have looked so out of sorts this season because they aren’t getting the protection they got last season. That starts with their pressing, a team that recovered possession four and a half times per game in the attacking third in 2024-25 is now down to 3.3 this term, about half of what a Klopp team might do, even in the years where the intensity was dialed down a smidge. It used to be that only Mohamed Salah got to rest when his team didn’t have the ball. Now it seems that at least half the attack are empowered to catch their breath. It is probably also true that Liverpool’s opposition just don’t fear the damage their frontline might cause as currently constituted. Salah looks satiated, even the best of the rest in Hugo Ekitike is at 0.42 xG per 90. In a league where no team is willing to sit back and take a punishment, you’d gamble that you can overcome what Liverpool’s attack might do to you.”
In Palace, Liverpool have a familiar, but tricky, foe that they have yet to beat in two previous games this season, while the EFL Cup fixture offers an important chance for Slot to finally get things right before major tests against Real Madrid and Manchester City in the next two weeks.
The remaining fourth round matches are almost exclusively made up of all-Premier League encounters, with Arsenal hosting Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea traveling to Wolverhampton Wanderers and reigning champions Newcastle United welcoming Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester City, meanwhile, make the trip to Wales to face Championship side Swansea City.
Don’t Miss Arsenal, Chelsea & More!
🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇺🇸 USWNT’s experimentation continues against New Zealand
The U.S. women’s national team wrap up a busy international break with a third and final friendly this month, this time against New Zealand at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium. Unsurprisingly, head coach Emma Hayes’ priority is still on experimentation as the long road to the 2027 Women’s World Cup continues, and this month’s window was perfectly positioned for a trial period. A schedule of games in quick succession means all but four players on the roster have played so far this month, Hayes handing many in the group with meaningful opportunities to impress, even if results have been mixed.
The contrasting nature of their first two games this month — a 2-1 loss to Portugal and then a 3-1 win against the same opponent three days later — has really seen several players’ stock rise and fall, especially since Hayes went with two very different lineups on each day. It is still too early to make final decisions on the USWNT’s World Cup starting lineup when considering just about every position on the pitch, especially so in goal. Hayes said the three rostered goalkeepers — Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Claudia Dickey and Mandy McGlynn — are the leading contenders for the job right now, but none of them have more than four caps, which is understandably not a big enough sample size for the coaching staff make their final judgments.
Tullis-Joyce got the nod in the loss to Portugal while Dickey started in the win, but Hayes was quick to note that the results did not specifically hinge on the goalkeepers’ performances and were signals of both individual performances and tactical decisions.
- Hayes: “They’ve had one game each — sometimes it’s really tough when you have just that. I think game one, we struggled in our buildup, that was clear, but as a team we struggled. It’s not about one player and in the second game, we did much better in the buildup but we have hindsight, reflections, analysis to be able to do that and we tweak things that perhaps put the goalkeeper in a better position for the second game so that’s the learning in that. We need to just keep developing their experiences, and that’s what we are doing. The World Cup qualification is not until next year, and my job is to keep developing the group to get closer to that.”
Hayes’ team selection will be fascinating even outside of the goalkeeper position, especially after a very young version of the team impressed against Portugal on Sunday. The head coach has been prone to making personnel changes as a year-long audition period continues, but she has hinted that building team chemistry will become more of a priority as next November’s World Cup qualification tournament approaches, making every friendly more and more important as Hayes rebuilds the team in her tactical vision.
🔗 Top Stories
🇺🇸 Reyna talks Berhalter feud: Gio Reyna said he would “maybe” change his conduct in hindsight but will not “take all the blame” while reflecting on the feud between his family and Gregg Berhalter’s following the USMNT’s trip to the 2022 World Cup.
🏴 Tottenham’s attack in focus: Tottenham Hotspur target a spot in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, but they may have to figure out how to fix their attack’s inconsistencies in order to get there.
❌ Wrexham exit EFL Cup: Cardiff City beat Wrexham 2-1 to advance to the EFL Cup quarterfinals, but the Red Dragons’ exit is maybe not such a big deal as they manage their first season in the Championship.
😕 Vinicius’ apology: Vinicius Junior issued an apology after his harsh reaction to his substitution in El Clasico, but all may not be well at Real Madrid for the Brazil international.
♥️ Susannah Fuller’s Morning Footy return: Susannah Fuller joined Morning Footy to talk about her move to Knoxville, her husband Ian’s first season as the head coach of USL League One side One Knoxville and to share the latest on her cancer battle.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- EFL Cup fourth round: Swansea City vs. Manchester City, Wednesday, 3:45 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: More than 3.5 goals scored (+110) – Manchester City may not have a lot of lopsided wins on the fixture list so far this season but Pep Guardiola’s side are still the Premier League’s joint top goalscorers and have the benefit of taking part in the most uneven matchup in the EFL Cup’s fourth round. Swansea City are 13th in the Championship and average one goal against per game, which makes City the very heavy favorites to reach the quarterfinals. Expect them to do so in style with a commanding victory, even if Guardiola decides to rotate through his team for the fixture.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.
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