September 22, (THEWILL) – The English Football League (EFL) Carabao Cup competition continues on Wednesday with the wobbly Leicester City in action with the promise of either or both of the Nigerian pair, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi billed to feature when they take enter the Lions’ Den to face Millwall in London.
As it will be the first time Leicester will be playing Millwall since the Championship side knocked them out of the FA Cup in February 2017, Brendan Rodgers will be looking at exercising cautious balance between not overburdening his regular squad but also not presenting a weak side that will be easily defeated.
The game will also present the Foxes with a chance to quickly bounce back from the disappointing 2-1 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon away at the American Express Community Stadium even while keeping an eye on their next EPL Saturday tie when the King Power Stadium will host Burnley.
The implication for Leicester is that the manager will be under pressure to effect a team rotation strategy that will allow him as many players fit and available for selection in the Games to come. This is most crucial as there is also a must-win UEFA Europa League fixture on Thursday next week against Legia Warszawa.
In their opening Group C tie at the King Power Stadium, Rodgers’ charges allowed Victor Osimhen’s Napoli to stage a spirited comeback from 2-0, with the Super Eagles’ forward scoring both of Napoli’s goals to return to Italy with a point. Anything but a win against Warszawa, who lead the group on three points, will be unfavorable for their chances.
Rodgers may play Iheanacho and allow Ndidi, who has put in a lot more minutes, to take a deserved rest and it will allow the striker to push for more starting positions with a proper outing at the Den against Millwall.
In Tuesday’s matches, Frank Onyeka’s Brentford went on a record-breaking win against Oldham Athletic at the Brentford Community Stadium, for the club’s biggest ever win in the Carabao Cup competition.
On the stroke of the hour mark of the Oldham hammering, centre forward Marcus Forss added a fourth to his hattrick to emerge as the man of the match. Yoane Wissa bagged a pair of goals and an own goal by Raphael Diarra earned the Bees a comprehensive 7-0 victory with Onyeka in action until he was subbed off late in the second period.
There was disappointment for the other Nigerians that played elsewhere on Tuesday. Alex Iwobi played all 90 minutes of Everton’s loss to Championship club Queens Park Rangers at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, London, via penalty shootout after the game ended 2-all in regulation time.
QPR goalkeeper, Seny Dieng, stopped Iwobi from burying away his 29th minute chance and a QPR Charlie Austin brace was cancelled out by goals from Lucas Digne and Andros Townsend to take the game to penalties, where Iwobi and co lost the penalty shootout 8-7.
It was also the end of the road for Emmanuel Dennis and his pair of Nigerian compatriots at Watford, where their team paid the price for fielding a weakened side against Stoke City at Vicarage Road. The Championship side beat Watford 3-1 to progress in their stead.
Dennis was introduced in the 80th minute to help the attack find a way back but late goals from Sam Clucas, just before Dennis came in, and Josh Tymon, five minutes after, sealed passage to the last sixteen for Stoke and sealed the fate of Watford for the season’s EFL competition.
William Troost-Ekong was on the bench throughout but Oghenekaro Etebo was not named for the encounter, both of whom Spanish manager Xisco may have believed the team did not need to pull off a victory over the lower League Stoke team but which did not pan out accordingly.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
