The League Cup third round closed on Thursday night with Manchester City thrashing Norwich 5-0 at the Etihad. The fourth round draw is complete, and it has produced a tie of the season: Liverpool v Chelsea. For FPL managers, though, the most useful thing is not the scoreline.
City won 5-0 and showed what this cup is for
Enzo Maresca made ten changes from the side that won at Old Trafford on Sunday. Erling Haaland was not even on the bench.
The night belonged to debutants. Eighteen-year-old Floyd Samba scored twice on his first appearance, Rayan Cherki also scored, and Ryan McAidoo added a late fifth. So did Allan Elias — the winger signed from Palmeiras for around €40m, who we covered in late August as part of City’s squad rebuild. It was his first outing for the club.
Why this is good news, not bad
The same question comes round every year: will the cup cost my players minutes? Thursday night answers it more firmly than any speculation could.
Haaland has a full 360 league minutes this season — and zero cup minutes. It looked the same across most clubs in this round: first choices rested, reserves and academy players started. Top clubs treat the early League Cup rounds as a rotation exercise, not a burden on their stars.
The practical takeaway: playing in the League Cup is not on its own a reason to sell anyone. What matters is fixture pile-up at clubs also playing in Europe — which we covered during the first Champions League round.
The trap that is easy to fall into this morning
All three heroes of the night are in the game and cost next to nothing. Which is exactly why this needs saying plainly.
| Player | Price | League minutes | Our rating | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd Samba | £4.5m | 0 | 21 | 0.0% |
| Allan Elias | £6.0m | 0 | 21 | 0.0% |
| Ryan McAidoo | £4.5m | 11 | 38 | 0.1% |
League Cup points do not count in FPL. Thursday’s five goals are worth nothing in this game. Our model puts all three near the floor not because they are poor players, but because it counts proven Premier League minutes, and there are none. The same mechanic applied to Delap, Marmoush and Jackson when they changed clubs in August.
If Samba or Elias start playing league football regularly, the ratings will rise on their own. Until then they are curiosities, not transfers.
Full third round results
| Fixture | Result |
|---|---|
| Manchester City v Norwich | 5-0 |
| Manchester United v Brighton | 2-3 |
| Chelsea v Leeds | 6-3 |
| Liverpool v Tottenham | 3-1 |
| Ipswich v Arsenal | 2-4 |
| West Ham v Fulham | 2-3 |
| Coventry v Aston Villa | 1-3 |
| Everton v Wolves | 1-0 |
| Bournemouth v Lincoln | 4-0 |
| Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough | 3-0 |
| Millwall v Newcastle | 0-1 |
| Sunderland v Hull | 1-0 |
| Reading v Brentford | 1-2 |
| Fleetwood v Sheffield United | 1-0 |
| Leyton Orient v Bradford | 1-3 |
| Peterborough v Barnsley | 3-3, 7-6 pens |
The biggest shock was Manchester United losing at home after leading 2-0 — they left the pitch to boos, and Michael Carrick said afterwards that he understood them. The second: third-tier Fleetwood knocked out Sheffield United and have earned a tie with Arsenal.
Fourth round draw, and when it is played
| Tie | Notes |
|---|---|
| Liverpool v Chelsea | tie of the round, two of the top clubs |
| Fleetwood v Arsenal | third tier against the champions |
| Manchester City v Brighton | a rerun against the side that won at Old Trafford |
| Everton v Newcastle | both in form |
| Fulham v Crystal Palace | south London derby |
| Bournemouth v Aston Villa | — |
| Sunderland v Brentford | — |
| Bradford v Peterborough | the only tie without a Premier League club |
The ties are scheduled for the week of 26 October — and that is worth noting down. It falls between the Gameweek 8 deadline (Friday 23 October) and Gameweek 9 (Saturday 31 October). Clubs who go through will play an extra fixture that week, before Gameweek 9.
Until then the competition drops off the radar — the coming weeks are league football, an international break and the Champions League.
Gameweek 5 starts today. What changed overnight
The deadline is 18:30 today, and Brentford host Chelsea at 20:00 — ninety minutes later.
João Pedro: yesterday we noted that the crowd kept buying him despite the flag. Within a day the market flipped — he is now the third most-sold player in the game (337,000), and ownership has fallen from 74.6% to 71.8%. At Thursday’s press conference Xabi Alonso ruled nobody out: final calls come after Friday training, and the Brazilian “could still feature”. Neither confirmation nor denial — exactly the scenario we described.
Two flag changes: Mendy (HUL, 6.8% owned) is now a full injury with a return date of 11 October rather than yesterday’s 50% chance — so he definitely will not play. A new flag for Dedić (NEW, 2.5%). Unchanged: Shaw, Porro and White at 75%, Elanga still without a return date. Full list in the Injury Centre.
Prices: 269 changes since the season started, 240 of them drops.
Who the crowd is buying: Rogers (553k), Gibbs-White (500k), Groß (488k), Gvardiol (448k). Note the first name — Rogers plays tonight, after the deadline.
Checklist before 18:30
- Check the latest Chelsea team news — the João Pedro call is made today.
- Do not buy anyone for points scored in the League Cup. They do not exist in FPL.
- If you keep a flagged player, set a sensible bench and bench order.
- Captaining anyone from Brentford v Chelsea is a blind call. Check the captain picks.
- Remember the next gameweek is not until 10 October — a -4 hit only works for one week.
Numbers come from our engine and the official game API, as of Friday 18 September, morning. Cup results and draw verified against external sources. This article was produced with the help of AI and reviewed by our editorial team. This is not betting advice.