The fourth round picture is set, and the cup heartbeat is already rising. In the Carabao Cup 2025 draw and matches, Liverpool have been paired with Crystal Palace in a heavyweight tie, Manchester City kept their momentum with a composed win at Huddersfield, Fulham edged a stubborn Cambridge United as Samuel Chukwueze finally stepped onto the Craven Cottage stage, and Chelsea survived a scare at Lincoln that left Enzo Maresca fuming and, perhaps, his players a little wiser.
Liverpool face Crystal Palace in heavyweight fourth round
Premier League champions Liverpool will meet FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in one of the standout fixtures of the fourth round. The fixtures are scheduled for the week of October 27, a stage in the season where silverware ambition meets squad depth and nerve.
Elsewhere, the draw served up all-Premier League tests and compelling underdog chapters. Newcastle United will host Tottenham, Arsenal welcome Brighton in a tie that stirs long memories of a trophy drought, Wolves will host Chelsea in a clash that promises edge, and Manchester City will travel to Swansea City. Lower-league dreams remain alive too, with Grimsby Town handed Brentford at home after stunning Manchester United in the previous round, while Wycombe Wanderers will welcome Fulham. For Welsh football, there is a historic flavour, Wrexham will host Cardiff City in their first meeting since 2002.
- Arsenal v Brighton
- Grimsby Town v Brentford
- Swansea City v Manchester City
- Newcastle United v Tottenham
- Wrexham v Cardiff City
- Liverpool v Crystal Palace
- Wolves v Chelsea
- Wycombe v Fulham
This is the part of the Carabao Cup where narratives sharpen, the favourites juggle fixtures across competitions, and the challengers draw strength from a single night’s belief. Liverpool’s meeting with Palace fits that billing, a duel of champions in a competition that can define momentum as autumn turns toward winter.
Manchester City pass their Huddersfield test with Foden at the wheel
Manchester City travelled to Huddersfield and played with the assurance of a side accustomed to high stakes, yet hungry for more. Former Premier League Player of the Year Phil Foden set the tone, striking early after an intricate one-two with teenage debutant Divine Mukasa, then later sliding a clever pass for Savinho to finish with emphatic precision off the underside of the bar.
It was not domination without jeopardy. Zepiqueno Redmond went close, captain Ben Wiles dragged a chance wide, and Cameron Ashia clipped the inside of the post late on. James Trafford, restored in goal, guarded his penalty area with calm hands and left with a clean sheet, the type of night that quietly builds confidence in a long campaign.
For Pep Guardiola’s side, the victory felt methodical rather than spectacular, a timely balance in a congested run of six fixtures in just 18 days. The reward is a trip to Swansea in the fourth round, a reminder that even the smoothest engines are tested by the rhythm of English cup football.
Fulham edge Cambridge as Chukwueze finally takes a bow
At Craven Cottage, Fulham needed patience, persistence and a touch of new energy to see off League Two visitors Cambridge United. The decisive moment came on 66 minutes, when Emile Smith Rowe arrived with composure to steer in the winner, a goal that sent the Cottagers into the next round and quieted the growing tension along the Thames.
It was also the night that Samuel Chukwueze finally made his Fulham debut. The Super Eagles winger, on loan from AC Milan with an option to buy, entered on the hour in place of Adama Traore and immediately stretched the game with direct running and a willingness to engage defenders one on one. It was a 30-minute cameo rich in promise, an introduction shaped as much by the grit of the contest as by the flickers of flair that made him a priority for Marco Silva.
Chukwueze joins a growing Nigerian core at Fulham, with Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey part of a spine that has given the club fresh personality. For the supporters, the debut was more than a box ticked, it was a glimpse of what could become a difference-making option as league and cup demands intensify.
Next up in this competition, Fulham head to Wycombe. The margins will be just as tight, the expectations just as real, and the lessons from Cambridge should carry weight in the weeks ahead.
Chelsea survive at Lincoln after a fierce half-time jolt from Maresca
Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Lincoln City will not be pinned to the training ground walls for aesthetics, but as a living lesson, it might be invaluable. League One Lincoln led through Rob Street just before half-time, a strike that captured the energy inside the LNER Stadium and exposed Chelsea’s uneasy rhythm.
Enzo Maresca saw the same and, as he revealed afterward, he let his players know it. With regulars such as Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah on the pitch, and with Alejandro Garnacho starting his first game for the club, the standard had to rise.
“I know some of them didn’t play these kind of games,” Maresca said, as reported by Fotmob. “I asked them how many times they had played against League One teams because you need to play a different kind of game.”
“It’s not the same game because the desire is double from them. We struggled a bit in the first half but we were much better in the second half and we won the game.”
The restart brought an immediate flip in mood. Tyrique George smashed home within minutes, Facundo Buonanotte followed, and the tie swung toward the visitors who found clarity and control when it mattered most. The reaction validated the manager’s message, and for younger faces like Garnacho and Jamie Gittens, it added a rugged layer to their early Chelsea education.
There was a sobering note too, with news that Cole Palmer has been ruled out for eight weeks after missing the tie through injury. The fourth-round trip to Wolves will test the group again, a scenario that likely excites Maresca, who made it clear that standards, not reputations, define his Chelsea.
Underdogs, derbies and the week ahead
Grimsby Town, the last remaining League Two club, earned another home night and a Premier League scalp to chase when Brentford arrive. That pairing carries the scent of an upset, the kind that deepens a cup’s folklore and gives players and fans a shared story that endures beyond a season.
In Wales, Wrexham hosting Cardiff City is not just a fourth-round tie, it is a renewal. Their last meeting came in 2002, and the air around this derby will be charged, a collision of pride, history and the desire to write a new chapter in front of a generation that has only heard the old ones told.
Arsenal against Brighton at the Emirates adds another level of intrigue. The Gunners have not lifted this trophy since 1993, a reminder that droughts are measured both by years and by near-misses. Brighton travel well, and in a single-elimination night, rhythm and resilience often trump reputation.
Why the Carabao Cup still matters
There is a reason managers bristle when their teams coast in early rounds. Nights like Lincoln v Chelsea, or Cambridge at Fulham, underline that the Carabao Cup compresses pressure into 90 minutes, then asks for a decisive act. The reward is a step nearer a Wembley run, the cost of complacency is immediate.
For Liverpool and Palace, it is the chance to assert authority in a cup that can galvanize a season. For Manchester City, it is a test of rotation and resolve across competitions that do not pause. For Fulham, it is a proving ground for new faces and a platform to grow belief. For Chelsea, it is a mirror, sometimes unforgiving, that reflects how a team responds when the script goes off-course.
Key takeaways from the draw and matches
- Liverpool versus Crystal Palace headlines a fourth round filled with top-flight duels
- Manchester City showed control and craft at Huddersfield, with Foden starring
- Fulham’s Samuel Chukwueze offered flashes in a winning debut, with Smith Rowe the match winner
- Chelsea needed half-time honesty and early second-half quality to turn Lincoln away.
The road to late October
The scheduling window in the week of October 27 concentrates every storyline. Squads will be stretched, selections will be scrutinized, and momentum from these third-round performances will either carry forward or be rewritten by the next challenge. The draw has balanced box office meetings with pathways for dreamers, the cocktail that makes this competition compelling year after year.
From Huddersfield’s brave surges to the LNER Stadium’s roar, from a 66th-minute finish beside the Thames to a manager’s stinging half-time demand, this round captured what makes the Carabao Cup matter. It is the blend of craft and chaos, of elite excellence and lower-league defiance, all compressed into nights that leave fingerprints on a season.
So Liverpool and Crystal Palace can begin their plotting, City can plan for Swansea, Fulham can pack for Wycombe, and Chelsea can brace for Wolves. The fourth round is set, and the drama feels poised, the kind you can sense in the noise before a ball is even kicked.
