West Ham will host Arsenal in the Carabao Cup fourth round while the draw set up a repeat of last season’s final with Newcastle travelling to Manchester United.
The Hammers, who made 10 changes from the Premier League defeat at Anfield, edged past Lincoln City with a 1-0 victory at Sincil Bank. Tomas Soucek – the one player who retained his place – scored the winner in the 70th minute, heading home from Saïd Benrahma’s corner.
Lincoln were left to rue missing a number of first-half chances, with Reeco Hackett failing to convert from a free header just before the break. “I thought we deserved the win, it was a tough night but we got through,” said the West Ham assistant manager, Billy McKinlay, after the game.
“We have got a really strong squad, plenty of players are fighting for the shirt,” McKinlay added. “At the moment the boys who are playing in the Premier League probably have possession of that but that can change very quickly. If you’re in the team and playing well, you keep the shirt and that’s what we want to see.”
- Mansfield v Port Vale
- Ipswich Tv Fulham
- Manchester United v Newcastle
- Bournemouth v Liverpool
- Chelsea v Blackburn
- West Ham v Arsenal
- Everton v Burnley
- Exeter v Middlesbrough
Ties will be played on 31 October and 1 November
The standout tie of the fourth round will be at Old Trafford with a repeat of last season’s final. Manchester United swept aside Newcastle back in February but Eddie Howe’s side will be boosted by their third-round victory over Manchester City.
Bournemouth set up a home last-16 tie against Liverpool after a 2-0 win over Stoke, but the result was marred by Dominic Solanke’s apparent ankle injury.
The striker was brought on at half-time to reinvigorate the hosts after a goalless first half, and put his side ahead with a finish on the turn just six minutes later. Joe Rothwell smashed in a free-kick to confirm the Cherries’ spot in the fourth round but Solanke was replaced after limping off with five minutes to go.
“Dom has played well,” said the Bournemouth manager, Andoni Iraola. “We needed a change of energy and the whole of the team had a different attitude in the second half. The most important thing at the end is to be in the next round.
“Unfortunately, [Solanke] couldn’t finish the game, that was probably the worst part of the evening,” Iraola added. “We will see tomorrow if the ankle is swollen or not but we have a very tight schedule, so it will be tough for him to play [at home to Arsenal] at the weekend.”
Fulham face a tricky trip to Ipswich after seeing off another East Anglian side, Norwich City, at Craven Cottage. Goals from Carlos Vinícius and Alex Iwobi put the hosts in charge before Borja Sainz pulled a goal back with 15 minutes to go.
Marco Silva urged his team to be more ruthless after almost being pegged back, but also praised the impact of Iwobi after his first goal for the club. “We had some good moments but we missed many chances to kill the game before and to score more goals,” the Fulham manager said.
“[Alex] is a player I know really well, and I was responsible for him to sign for Everton as well,” Silva added after Iwobi finished a fine team move for Fulham’s second goal. “He has qualities, he’s dynamic and his energy as well is going to make him an important player for us.”
Blackburn routed Cardiff 5-2 at Ewood Park to earn a trip to Chelsea, with Andrew Moran scoring two and setting up two more. Jake Garrett’s opener was cancelled out by Callum Robinson’s thunderous equaliser, before Brighton loanee Moran set up Arnor Sigurdsson to score on his home debut.
Kion Etete’s brilliant improvised goal got the visitors level just before the break but Blackburn took charge in the second half. Moran pounced on a defensive error to restore Blackburn’s lead, then struck again with a spectacular long-range effort after Sigurdsson had missed a penalty. The 19-year-old then teed up Dilan Markanday for Rovers’ fifth to complete a superb display.
Everton will host Burnley after knocking out Aston Villa, while Mansfield face Port Vale and Exeter entertain Middlesbrough in two ties pairing-lower league sides.
