Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter at Etihad Stadium

Rayan Cherki has been the liveliest player on the pitch so far and he looks on it tonight.

The Frenchman is in the mood to cause Brighton a few troubles, having gone on a couple of mazy runs already.

Image source, Getty Images

No shot directly from the corner but it comes back to Phil Foden on the right-hand side and he tries the square ball across the box but it's blocked before it can reach the advancing Floyd Samba.

Rayan Cherki's free-kick is straight into the wall. The rebound comes back to him for a second bite of the cherry but this one is blocked behind for a corner.

Rayan Cherki is brought down right on the edge of the penalty area and he's tripped up by Michael Svoboda and wins the foul.

A free-kick in a very dangerous area.

Clinton Morrison
Former Crystal Palace striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Having [Ryan Gravenberch] next to him helps him massively.

I know Trey Nyoni's family really well. He's a humble young boy who just wants to be the best.

I remember when he was at Leicester City, his dad didn't put a lot of pressure on him, he just let him go about his business and play.

He's had to bide his time and it's hard as youngster to get your chance at Liverpool.

Image source, Getty Images

Marc Guehi has made a few mistakes this season but, with all the changes to Enzo Maresca's squad, the England defender is wearing the captain's armband this evening.

Not immediately the pick of tonight's fixtures, this one, but when the two sides met in September in the Premier League it turned out to be an entertaining watch, which Palace nicked 3-2.

Since then things are starting to look up for Fulham but the Eagles have been on a bit of a downward spiral.

So it could go one of two ways, this.

Rayan Cherki picks up the ball and powers through the middle of the park with ease.

Brighton just allow him to cruise past them and his low shot is saved by Jason Steele.

I was about to say this match is sold out according to the Man City website but there are a lot of empty seats inside the Etihad.

Brighton enjoying a lot of the ball at the moment.

Liverpool are the only side to beat the Seagulls this season and this is a much-changed Manchester City side.

Sunderland have been well off it this season and currently sit at the bottom of the Premier League, but tonight presents a chance to put league worries behind them.

A win at the Stadium of Light will see the Black Cats into the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the first time since 2022.

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Away we go in our first match of the evening. The holders take on the Premier League high-flyers.

Aston Villa will be hoping to maintain their recent revival and make it five consecutive wins across all competitions when they face Bournemouth in the League Cup tonight.

After failing to win any of their first four games of the season, Unai Emery's side have massively transformed their fortunes by embarking on an eight-game unbeaten run.

The Villans, who beat Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday, are second in the Champions League league phase and ninth in the Premier League.

Their impressive turnaround comes after a summer of upheaval, which saw long-serving stalwarts Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins, Lucas Digne and Emi Martinez all leave Villa Park.

Villa have not reached the fifth round of the League Cup since the 2019/20 season, when they lost to Manchester City in the final.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer will not miss the Blues' Premier League meeting with Manchester United on Saturday, despite being sent off in his side's last Premier League match.

Palmer was shown two yellow cards in the second half of the Blues' defeat by rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. That dismissal meant that Palmer was handed a one-match ban.

The England playmaker was shown his first caution for an off-the-ball incident involving Spurs' Mateus Fernandes. He was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Conor Gallagher.

In most cases, this would be served in that team's next Premier League match. However, Palmer will not miss Chelsea's meeting with United at Stamford Bridge.

Instead, Palmer is banned for the Blues' EFL Cup fourth-round match at Liverpool. This is because red card suspensions are carried out across domestic competitions rather than being specific to the competition they were received in.

Image source, Getty Images

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter at Anfield

Andoni Iraola might have made seven changes but that is still a relatively strong starting lineup for Liverpool, with an experienced backline.

Like against Villarreal last week, the trio of Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak are on the bench and Iraola will know that he has plenty of firepower to call upon, if needed.

"We always want to win and that feeling only grows when you know what it means to earn a victory," Iraola says in his programme notes.

With four wins in their last four, the optimism around Anfield will only grow if Liverpool go through tonight.

Jobi McAnuff
Former Crystal Palace winger on BBC Radio 5 Live

I was really surprised not to see [Danny Welbeck] in the starting line-up last time, I thought that was exactly the type of situation that he was brought in for if Joao Pedro is not available.

Asking Morgan Rogers to do a job, which I'm sure he would try to do but he is not a specialist in that position.

Welbeck just knits everything together, but maybe it might be to do with with managing his minutes. This might have been one always on the cards for him to start so a really good opportunity for him, and a gentle reminder of what he can bring to the party, and to Xabi Alonso that, he is here, and wants to play a part.

Jobi McAnuff
Former Crystal Palace winger on BBC Radio 5 Live

I was quite surprised to see Virgil van Dijk starting.

Maybe it tells you a bit about where the squad is in terms of a lack of depth, because he is one that I had foreseen as being rested particularly with a huge huge game on Sunday.

Araujo, has played a lot of football, and I think he's been fantastic so far this season. It's just one or two that I thought might possibly get a rest, but I'm really delighted to see Rio Ngumoha starting.