EFL Cup PREVIEW 9 Sep 2026: Farke calls the cup the quickest way to Europe as unbeaten Leeds visit Chelsea in the third round

One third-round tie on Wednesday, and neither manager is treating it as a chore. Daniel Farke set out Leeds United's ambition in terms rarely heard before a September cup night: "We will try to win it. Quickest way to Europe and some glory" — while conceding the balancing act: "Not the favourites but we travel to London to go through without doing anything stupid. You have to rotate a bit but we want to go through to the next round." Xabi Alonso, for his part, promised no half-measures from Chelsea: "We always assess everything. Where are we coming from, where are we going. We try to take all the games, all the cups very seriously and we will, where we are, have the best possible team." The competition carries extra weight at Stamford Bridge this year — as Football Whispers puts it, "Now, they can attack the Carabao Cup with a strong XI, as they are not playing in Europe this season."

The team news favours neither side cleanly. Chelsea's official site confirms "Levi Colwill is fit and ready to feature in our Carabao Cup third-round tie against Leeds United", but Alonso ruled out Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra: "No, not yet. Still not ready to go. Not the moment to take too early risk." Leeds, per Khel Now, "will miss out on the services of Ilian Gruev, Joe Rodon and Mateo Joseph", and Farke flagged one more: "There's a little question mark over Daniel James as he reported an issue with his back after the warm-up at Brighton." Form frames it as champion-versus-irritant: "Chelsea's defeat at Arsenal ended a four-game winning run in all competitions", while "Leeds remain unbeaten having earned a 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion." Both came through round two by the same score — the Blues "thanks to Danny Welbeck and an own goal by Hakeem Odofin" against Luton, Leeds at Nottingham Forest "courtesy of goals from Dan James and James Justin." The history is genuinely even — Khel Now's ledger reads "Matches played: 112. Chelsea (wins): 40. Leeds (wins): 41. Draws: 31" — and their three meetings last season, per Football Whispers, "produced mixed results (W1, D1, L1)." Alonso's forecast: "Tomorrow we are expecting a very, very intense game, very tough, very many situations of duels, but we need to try to cope with that, find solutions and know that this is going to be an important game tomorrow."