21.09. (Wed) 20:45 Manchester City - Birmingham City

PROBABLE LINEUPS

MANCHESTER CITY Hart Richards, K Toure, Lescott, Kolarov Y Toure, Barry Johnson, Tevez, Balotelli

BIRMINGHAM CITY Myhill Carr, Caldwell, Davies, Ridgewell Beausejour, Gomis, Spector, Burke King, Wood

Wednesday’s hosts have just the two players to worry about, with James Milner recovering from concussion and Nigel de Jong almost fit following his ankle problem. Both could feature in some capacity during the clash but are not likely to start the match. Roberto Mancini has confirmed that Owen Hargreaves will be given the chance to play as much as half of the game if he feels fit enough. Chris Hughton will have a handful of individuals that will need assessing before the game at the Etihad Stadium. Nikola Zigic has returned to full training and could make his first appearance in a Birmingham shirt this season. However, Keith Fahay will not be fit enough and is still a week or so away from being fit, while Jordon Mutch is a long-term injury problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Manchester City became the second English team to pick up both a European and a domestic trophy in 1970 when they secured the League Cup, shortly after capturing the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Vienna.

• Their most successful period in this competition came in the 1970s, where they were victorious twice ('70 and '76), as well as being runners up in the '74 final.

• Birmingham City also have two League Cup triumphs, along with a single runners-up appearance. Their first win came in 1963 and of course their latest victory just back in February after overcoming Arsenal 2-1.

• In Birmingham’s 1964 win, they conquered Manchester City 6-0 in the fifth round on the way to the two-legged final against local rivals Aston Villa.

• Whereas winning players in other competitions receive a medal each, the individuals on the victorious side collect a special tankard for their efforts.

• At the end of the tournament a panel select the best player of the final to receive the Alan Hardaker trophy, named after the former secretary of the Football League who devised the League Cup. The current holder of this is the loaned out Birmingham keeper Ben Foster (pictured above right).

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 
Man City 2-1 Birmingham City

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21.09. (Wed) 20:45 Brighton & Hove A. - Liverpool

PROBABLE LINEUPS

BRIGHTON AnkergrenCalderon, Greer, Dunk, Cook LuaLua, Bridcutt, Navarro, Vicente Mackail-Smith, Barnes

LIVERPOOL Doni Flannagan, Kelly, Coates, Robinson Maxi, Spearing, Gerrard, Bellamy Kuyt, Carroll

Brighton will be without Marcus Painter after he received a red card in the 1-0 defeat to Leicester City at the weekend, and it is likely another defender will be forced to play out of position to cover the problem.
Former Spain international winger Vicente Rodriguez could be in line for his debut following his free transfer from Valencia. The 30 year-old has been struggling for match fitness since his move from La Liga as he did not have much of a pre-season, however, he may be offered the chance to prove his fitness against the Premier League side.
Liverpool look set to make several changes from the weekend defeat to Tottenham with Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel both missing after picking up red cards at White Hart Lane whilst various key players are likely to be rested.
Martin Kelly could make his return from a hamstring injury picked up in August, and club captain Steven Gerrard may also be involved following his six-month lay-off, but Kenny Dalglish has not confirmed whether he will play from the start or not.

DID YOU KNOW?

• These two clubs have not met in a competitive match since March 1983 when both were in the old Division One.

• Brighton have only ever beaten Liverpool once, a 1-0 win at Anfield in 1982.

• Matches between Brighton and Liverpool average just under four goals a game at 3.75.

• Vicente has only managed more than 21 league games in a season once since 2003-04.

• Liverpool have lost two of their last eight League Cup matches against lower league opposition.

• Uruguay international Sebastian Coates (pictured right) could make his first start for his new club at the Falmer Stadium.

• Brighton’s last victory over a Premier League side came in this competition, a penalties win over Manchester City in 2008 after drawing 2-2 after extra time.

• Steven Gerrard’s last appearance for Liverpool was the 3-1 win over bitter rivals Manchester United back in March.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 
Brighton 0-2 Liverpool

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21.09. (Wed) 20:45 Milan - Udinese

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

AC Milan (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Nocerino, van Bommel, Seedorf; Aquilani; Pato, Cassano

Coach Massimiliano Allegri continues to be faced with a mounting injury list, which sees the young tactician still without the services of Mathieu Flamini, Massimo Ambrosini, Gennaro Gattuso, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, Daniele Bonera is expected to be dropped in favour of Luca Antonini at left-back, despite Taye Taiwo being in contention once again. Filippo Inzaghi could also feature at some point during proceedings on Wednesday.

Udinese (3-5-1-1): Handanovic; Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi; Basta, Agyemang-Badu, Pinzi, Isla, Armero; Torje; Di Natale

The Zebrette are likely to be without Ghanaian midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah, who picked up a knock during their impressive 2-0 win over Fiorentina at the weekend, so Mauricio Isla will move to the middle, with Dusan Basta taking up the reins on the right-hand side of midfield. In addition to their injury woes, Damiano Ferronetti, Giovanni Pasquale and Antonio Floro Flores still have a further week until their respective comebacks.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Milan have won just one of their past five meetings with Udinese in Serie A.

• The 3-1 loss to Napoli last week was only Milan's second during the calendar year in the league.

• Only once in the past 13 seasons had the Diavolo previously failed to win any of their first two games.

• However, Milan remain unbeaten at home in Serie A throughout 2011, winning seven times and drawing four.

• Currently, Milan have the joint-worst defensive record in domestic matters, having conceded five.

• This is in stark contrast to Udinese, who have kept clean sheets in their first two games.

• The Zebrette are unbeaten in the last five league matches, including a 100 per cent record so far this season.

• The last time Udinese won their first two games of the season was in 2005-06, with wins against Empoli and Roma.

• Udinese have failed to win in their past four clashes against Milan in all competitions.

Prediction

Udinese won't have a better chance of beating the Serie A champions for the forseeable future, so what better time to do it than three games into the new season. Milan's lack of mobility and movement in the middle of the park could be heavily exposed by the tenacious Badu, Isla and Asamoah. Also, Torje and Di Natale are beginning to strike up a deadly partnership for the Zebrette, in stark contrast to Milan, who are suffering from a lack of first-choice attackers in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin-Prince Boateng, so it should make for a fascinating encounter, but in the favour of Francesco Guidolin's side.

Editor's Prediction

AC Milan 1-2 Udinese

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21.09. (Wed) 20:45 Chelsea - Fulham

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

CHELSEA Cech Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole Mikel, Romeu, Lampard Malouda, Torres, Lukaku

FULHAM Schwarzer Baird, Kelly, Hangeland, JA Riise Dempsey, Murphy, Sidwell, Duff Zamora, Ruiz

It’s likely that Andres Villas-Boas will afford Fernando Torres the opportunity to start and get straight back on the goalscoring wagon after the Spaniard’s remarkable miss against Manchester United at the weekend. Elsewhere, Oriel Romeu and Romelu Lukaku could be given starts, with Jon Obi Mikel and David Luiz also in line to figure. Martin Jol may give new signing Bryan Ruiz another chance to prove himself after a lacklustre start to life in west London. Otherwise, it seems likely that the visitors will stay as faithful as possible to the team that drew at the weekend with Manchester City in the hope of giving as good a showing as possible of themselves in the League Cup derby fixture.

DID YOU KNOW?

• No Chelsea player other than Juan Mata has scored more than one goal this season.

• The last time Chelsea lost to Manchester United, they went on a four-match winless streak.

• Frank Lampard (right) has created more goalscoring chances than anybody else in the Premier League this season, with 14.

• Fulham have not recorded a win in six outings, drawing their last three.

• The last time the two met, in the Premier League back in February, the game finished a 0-0 stalemate as Clint Dempsey missed a penalty.

• Fulham have been particularly vulnerable in the 10 minutes leading up to half-time, with over half of their goals conceded this term being during that window.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 
Chelsea 3-1 Fulham

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21.09. (Wed) 20:00 Racing Santander - Real

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Racing (4-4-1-1): Tono; Francis, Gonzalez, Torrejon, Cisma; Kennedy, Diop, Adrian, Munitis; Acosta; Stuani

Hector Cuper welcomes back Pape Diop to his first-team after the Senegalese midfielder served a one-match suspension during the 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid over the weekend.

Marc Torrejon is also likely to return to the centre of defence after injury, with Osmar Barba expected to make way for the former Espanyol man.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Ramos, Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo; Xabi Alonso, Coentrao; Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo; Benzema

Sami Khedira will miss the encounter against Racing after his red card during the shock 1-0 defeat to Levante on Sunday. The versatile Fabio Coentrao is expected to drop back into the centre of midfield, with Cristiano Ronaldo returning in attack after his ankle injury. 

Jose Mourinho is also expected to recall Mesut Ozil to his starting line-up, with Kaka likely to drop the the bench.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Racing are currently 18th in La Liga and have not won a game so far this term.

• The club finished 12th last campaign, three points above the relegation zone.

• The side from Cantabria are currently coached by Hector Cuper, who previously saw his Valencia team lose the 2000 Champions League final 3-0 to Madrid.

• Racing's Pedro Munitis and Adrian Gonzalez both previously had spells at the capital club.

• Real Madrid have won their last 62 league games in which they took the lead. 

• The 1-0 defeat against Levante was the club's first loss in La Liga in seven games, the last being their 3-2 home reverese to Zaragoza in April of the 2010-11 campaign.

• Sunday's defeat was also the first game in seven La Liga fixtures in which Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score.

• When these two sides met at El Sardinero last season, Madrid won 3-1. In the reverse clash at the Bernaneu, Mourinho's men ran out 6-1 winners, with Ronaldo grabbing four goals.

Prediction

After Madrid's disappointing loss to Levante at the weekend, expect Jose Mourinho's men to bounce back against Racing, who are yet to win a game this season. Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to return to the starting line-up after his ankle injury and is sure to be a constant menace for the home side's leaky back-line.

Editor's Prediction

Racing 0 -3 Real Madrid

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