Today’s English League Cup, La Liga And Europa League Fixtures & Previews

Man United** and Brighton butt heads in the EFL Cup third round **

Fresh from contrasting Premier League results over the weekend, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion butt heads at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday night.

The victors of this tie will enter the fourth-round draw taking place directly after the match, with those fixtures to take place during the week commencing October 26.

The 199th Manchester derby turned out to be a highly controversial affair ending in defeat for Michael Carrick’s side, who fell to a narrow 1-0 loss against 10-player Manchester City on Sunday.

After finishing last season on a high, Man United have begun the new campaign poorly, winning just one of their opening four Premier League games (D1 L2) and failing to keep a single clean sheet (seven goals conceded). They already sit eight points adrift of both Arsenal and Man City at the summit of the Premier League table, and any slim hopes of a title challenge seem to have already been extinguished.

Wednesday’s fixture represents Man United’s first in the EFL Cup since their embarrassing second-round exit to fourth-tier outfit Grimsby Town under former boss Ruben Amorim last season.

Man United were beaten in their most recent cup encounter with Brighton, losing 2-1 at home in the FA Cup third round in January, but they did secure a 3-0 Premier League victory over the Seagulls. Success in midweek would see them record back-to-back wins over Brighton for the first time since February 2022.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Barcelona** welcome Racing de Santander to Camp Nou**

Barcelona will be aiming to continue what has been a stunning start to the season when they welcome Racing de Santander to Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

Rodri, Yamal and Raphinha of Barcelona

The Catalan outfit are currently top of the La Liga table on 15 points, while an encouraging start to the season for Racing has left them 10th in the division on seven points.

Barcelona have not missed a step this season, with the Catalan outfit’s form simply incredible, posting five straight wins in La Liga, scoring 21 times in the process.

Hansi Flick‘s team will enter this match off the back of a 4-2 win over Levante, while they opened their Champions League league stage with a 5-1 success over Feyenoord last week.

Barcelona are top of the La Liga table, three points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, and it already has the makings of a fascinating battle for the title this season.

Barcelona and Racing have locked horns on 101 occasions in all competitions throughout history, and it is former that lead the overall head-to-head record 63 wins to the latter’s 17.

Racing have not been victorious over the Catalan side since January 2004, while each of their last eight meetings in all competitions have been won by Barcelona.

The visitors will know that they are up against it on Wednesday, but it has been a very encouraging start to the campaign for the Green and Whites, who won last season’s Segunda Division to secure a return to this level of football.

Racing have been impressive in the final third of the field this season, and we are backing the visitors to score, but Barcelona’s attack should carry them to another three points.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Atletico** aim to make back-to-back wins when they host **Osasuna

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in Spain’s top flight when they welcome Osasuna to Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Diego Simeone‘s side are currently fourth in the La Liga table on 10 points, while Osasuna occupy 11th, picking up seven points from their opening five matches of the season.

Diego Simeone, Athletico Madrid coach

Atletico have a record of three wins, one draw and one defeat from their five league matches this season, with 10 points leaving them in fourth position in the division.

Simeone’s side were beaten 3-0 by Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on September 5 before suffering a 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the Champions League, but they managed to bounce back against Real Sociedad.

The Red and Whites have won three of their last four games against Osasuna, including a 1-0 victory in the corresponding game during the 2025-26 campaign.

Osasuna do have a recent away success over Atletico to their name, though, having recorded a stunning 4-1 victory in Madrid in May 2024.

Osasuna are capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Atletico, but we are expecting Simeone’s side to navigate their way to all three points.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Former European champions AC Milan & Benfica clash in Europa Cup

Two former European champions will clash in UEFA’s second-tier competition, when AC Milan open their Europa League campaign against Benfica on Wednesday evening.

Set to meet at San Siro, the pair missed out on Champions League qualification last season, but they are among the favourites to lift the trophy in Frankfurt next spring.

Modric, AC Milan

Six defeats from their last 10 league games loosened Milan’s grip on Champions League football last term, sparking a quick cull of the club’s management.

With Max Allegri’s second spell abruptly ended after one year, Ruben Amorim was hired to turn things around, and his new team are undefeated so far.

Amorim’s most recent experience was losing the 2025 Europa League final as Manchester United manager, having previously made an impact at the elite level with Sporting Lisbon.

Rather romantically, Milan’s league-phase campaign will begin against his old club, who Amorim represented for nine years as a player; as a coach, he generally got the better of Benfica while in charge of Sporting.

History also suggests Benfica could struggle to take any points home, as they have yet to defeat Milan in six competitive meetings – including two European Cup finals, in 1963 and 1990.

Milan are still finding their feet under Amorim, while Benfica’s new managerial era has begun with a glut of goals.

So, the hosts may have to settle for a home draw on their return to European football.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

EFL FIXTURES

Everton 18:45 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fleetwood Town 18:45 Sheffield United

Coventry City 19:00 Aston Villa

Manchester United 19:00 Brighton

**La Liga Fixtures **

Atletico Madrid 17:00 Osasuna

Deportivo de A Coruña 17:00 Sevilla

Barcelona 19:30 Racing de Santander

Levante 20:30 Athletic Club

Europa League Fixtures

Ararat-Armenia 16:45 Sparta Prague

Omonia Nicosia 16:45 Celta Vigo

AC Milan 19:00 Benfica

Anderlecht 19:00 Olympique Lyonnais

Bayer 04 Leverkusen 19:00 Celje

Hapoel Be’er Sheva 19:00 Dinamo Zagreb

Olympiakos 19:00 Jagiellonia Białystok

Sturm Graz 19:00 Rennes

Sunderland 19:00 AZ Alkmaar

The post Today’s English League Cup, La Liga And Europa League Fixtures & Previews appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.