I’m not convinced with the direction of either of these projects at the moment, with both London clubs opting for new managers in the summer.

Things have looked slightly better for Fulham in recent weeks with wins over Hull and Coventry, but it’ll take more than a few 1-0 victories against newly promoted sides to convince me that Arbeloa is capable at this level.

Pierre Sage has failed to gel with the Palace fanbase, and the Eagles enter this game having failed to win any of their last four - notably conceding 2+ goals in all of these matches.

Palace seem incapable of keeping a game tight right now, they’ve seen 2+ goals in 11 of their 12 matches this term with the exception of a 0-0 draw with Leeds - that still produced an xG of 2.37.

Four of Fulham’s five home games in the Premier League have seen at least two goals, it’s likely that we see a continuation of that trend here given how weak both sides are defensively at the moment - particularly Palace. 

Brighton have been one of the most exciting sides to watch in the Premier League this term, and I wouldn’t be put off by the fact they’ve failed to score in their last two matches.

The Seagulls recorded an xG in excess of 1.0 in both games against Liverpool and Jablonec as well as taking at least 17 shots in both fixtures. 

Fabian Hurzeler has assembled a squad that is still capable of competing with the fitness demands of this level, despite having as many as nine first team players missing at the moment.

Man City have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last four matches, conceding against Ipswich and AEK Athens in this run. 

Maresca’s side have conceded an xG of 10.7, seven sides have posted a better xG against in the Premier League this term. He insists on playing with a high line that opposition sides are slowly working out. 

City should rotate as well here, given that they face Brighton again at the weekend - followed by a trip to Leipzig in the Champions League.

Brighton have scored more goals than any other side in the Premier League this term, and should have enough to get on the scoresheet here.

I’m always willing to look at opposition sides to pick up cards against Aston Villa.

They’ve been the most fouled side in the Premier League in each of the last two seasons, coinciding with Unai Emery’s impressive stint at the club. 

Villa are very patient in build up, and also keep the pitch quite narrow aside from their fullbacks. Their clever rotations in those central areas make them an excellent team when it comes to winning fouls and drawing cards.

Villa have drawn more cards from their opponents than any other side in the Premier League this season (3.25 per game), while Bournemouth sit third in the division for cautions (2.75 per game).

The tactical matchup here is perfect when looking to back the home side to pick up a few cards. EFL Cup matches can occasionally lack the intensity of league games, but Bournemouth still picked up two cards in their 4-0 win over Lincoln in the last round. 

I’m not that surprised that Sunderland are struggling this season, European football after just earning promotion was always going to be a tough task and it looks like Regis Le Bris simply doesn’t have the squad depth to compete on all fronts.

On the other hand, Brentford should be looking at this competition as a massive opportunity. The club has never won a major trophy, and the EFL Cup could provide an avenue to silverware as we saw with Newcastle a few seasons ago.

Brentford have only lost one of their opening eight Premier League matches, which was a defeat against Liverpool where they were reduced to 10 men, and all four of their away games in the Premier League have finished level.

Remarkably, across Brentford’s last 20 competitive matches - only three sides have managed to beat them, with these being the two Manchester clubs and that loss to Liverpool a few weeks ago.

Sunderland looked knackered in their 0-0 draw with Leeds over the weekend, and I think we’ll see Regis Le Bris forced to rotate just to protect his squad. They’ve only won one of their last six matches, against a second division Portuguese side.

Chelsea’s loss against Tottenham over the weekend was a real wake up call for the Blues, who were pretty pathetic in defeat to Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

Xabi Alonso will have to travel to Anfield without Cole Palmer, following a recurrence of the discipline issues that have plagued Chelsea for a few seasons now. Palmer was sent off at Stamford Bridge, and was lucky to be the only one. 

Joao Pedro could also still be sidelined, taking away two of Chelsea's most important attacking players. Without that threat in the final third, Chelsea do look a bit rigid and uncreative with the structure behind Rogers, Palmer and Pedro.

Things are looking more positive each week for Liverpool under Iraola. I was impressed with their display against Brighton at the weekend, limiting one of the best attacking sides in the league to just one shot on target. 

That victory over the Seagulls represents Liverpool’s fourth straight win across all competitions. They’ll be more confident than Chelsea here, and it looks like Iraola is close to finding the right balance for the likes of Wirtz, Barcola and Isak - which looked near impossible just a few weeks ago.