Updated 11 September 2026
The five Carabao Cup third-round matches played on 8 September have now been decided. The original predictions were tested by the results, with four of the five ties producing wins for the side we had identified as favourites, while Bradford City overturned the closely matched Leyton Orient tie.
AFC Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln City
Goals: Ryan Christie 7′, 69′, 88′; Rayan 90+4′.
Bournemouth delivered the clearest result of the five matches and Marco Rose’s side recorded a convincing first competitive win under the new manager. Ryan Christie completed a hat-trick before Rayan added a fourth in stoppage time. Prediction assessment: Correct. Our original call was that Bournemouth were favourites and Lincoln’s upset route was only slight.
Crystal Palace 3-0 Middlesbrough
Goals: Jorgen Strand Larsen 37′, 53′; Daichi Kamada 72′.
Palace controlled the tie and progressed without conceding. Strand Larsen scored twice, both headers, before Kamada completed the scoring. Prediction assessment: Correct. We rated Middlesbrough’s upset chance as possible, but Palace’s stronger squad prevailed.
Sunderland 1-0 Hull City
Goal: Chemsdine Talbi 71′.
This was the tightest of the five results. Talbi produced the decisive finish in the 71st minute as Sunderland edged a match featuring heavily rotated sides. Prediction assessment: Correct. We had called Sunderland favourites but warned that Hull could make the contest competitive.
Leyton Orient 1-3 Bradford City
Goals: Leyton Orient: own goal by Gillesphey 38′. Bradford City: Swan 45′, Humphrys 58′, Powell 88′.
This was the match where our assessment most clearly pointed towards danger for the expected favourite. Bradford came from behind and won 3-1. Prediction assessment: Partly correct. We described the tie as very evenly matched and gave it a very possible upset rating; the final result confirmed that warning, although Bradford were not technically an upset against a clearly superior side.
Millwall 0-1 Newcastle United
Goal: Joe Willock 81′.
Newcastle survived a difficult night at The Den. Willock’s late goal settled the tie, while Millwall threatened to cause a major upset. Reports noted that Millwall were severely affected by injuries and still came close, including a shot against the post. Prediction assessment: Correct. We had identified this as the night’s serious banana-skin possibility, and the narrow scoreline showed why.
Full Five-Match Scoreboard
- Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln City — Christie 7′, 69′, 88′; Rayan 90+4′.
- Crystal Palace 3-0 Middlesbrough — Strand Larsen 37′, 53′; Kamada 72′.
- Sunderland 1-0 Hull City — Talbi 71′.
- Leyton Orient 1-3 Bradford City — Gillesphey own goal 38′; Swan 45′, Humphrys 58′, Powell 88′.
- Millwall 0-1 Newcastle United — Willock 81′.
Upset Awards
Biggest upset: Bradford City’s 3-1 win at Leyton Orient was the standout result against the original pre-match expectation of a very evenly balanced tie.
Near-upset of the night: Millwall 0-1 Newcastle. Newcastle progressed, but Millwall made the Premier League side work extremely hard.
Most convincing favourite: Bournemouth 4-0 Lincoln City.
Prediction Scorecard
- Bournemouth v Lincoln — Correct: Bournemouth win expected; upset chance rated slight.
- Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough — Correct: Palace win expected; upset chance rated possible.
- Sunderland v Hull — Correct: Sunderland favoured, with warning of a competitive match.
- Leyton Orient v Bradford — Warning proved justified: We identified this as the most evenly matched tie and rated an upset very possible.
- Millwall v Newcastle — Correct: Newcastle were favoured, but the serious upset warning proved justified by the narrow 1-0 score.
Overall assessment: The original preview correctly identified the stronger teams in four of the five ties and, importantly, highlighted Leyton Orient v Bradford and Millwall v Newcastle as the two matches with the greatest upset potential.
What Happened to the Other Third-Round Fixture?
Chelsea later beat Leeds United 6-3 on 9 September, but that match was not one of the original five fixtures covered in this article. The remaining third-round ties are scheduled for 15-17 September.
Carabao Cup: What Comes Next — 15 to 17 September
The third round continues next week, with another group of ties including Liverpool v Tottenham, Ipswich Town v Arsenal, Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City v Norwich City. The EFL has confirmed the third round runs through Thursday 17 September.
Tuesday 15 September
- Peterborough United v Barnsley — 7:30pm BST
- West Ham United v Fulham — 7:45pm BST
- Reading v Brentford — 8:00pm BST
- Ipswich Town v Arsenal — 8:00pm BST
- Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur — 8:00pm BST
Wednesday 16 September
- Fleetwood Town v Sheffield United — 7:45pm BST
- Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers — 7:45pm BST
- Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion — 8:00pm BST
- Coventry City v Aston Villa — 8:00pm BST
Thursday 17 September
- Manchester City v Norwich City — 7:30pm BST
Match to Watch: Liverpool v Tottenham
Liverpool host Tottenham at Anfield on Tuesday 15 September at 8pm BST. Sky Sports lists the fixture as a Carabao Cup third-round tie, with Liverpool entering after a 2-0 Premier League win at Ipswich and Tottenham coming off a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest. The tie is also scheduled for live coverage on Sky Sports, while the EFL says ITV 4 will show it in the UK.
Early editorial view: Liverpool have the home advantage and strong recent cup history, but Tottenham have enough attacking quality to make this a dangerous tie. Rotation, European commitments and team news could have a major influence on the final prediction.
Live Scores, Fixtures and Match Updates
For live scores and minute-by-minute updates, readers should use the official live-score and football hubs from BBC Sport Football and Sky Sports Carabao Cup Scores & Fixtures. Sky Sports also provides its dedicated Carabao Cup competition page.
Preview and Further Reading
Sky Sports: Carabao Cup third-round preview/draw guide, including Liverpool v Tottenham and the other major third-round ties.
BBC Sport: BBC Sport Football for the latest match previews, team news, reports and live coverage. BBC’s live match pages are normally published/updated close to kick-off, so this is the safest BBC hub link until the specific 2026 Carabao Cup live page is available.
Picture Credit
Photo: Anfield, photographed by Frombowen, Wikimedia Commons. The photograph is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Original image/source page. The image has been uploaded to Statoshi.co.uk for this article with attribution retained.
Live Scores and Further Information
For continuing Carabao Cup fixtures, results and live coverage, see Sky Sports Carabao Cup, BBC Sport Football and the competition results pages from major football-data providers.
Sources checked for this update include Reuters, Sky Sports, The Guardian, TNT Sports and Football Web Pages. Results and goalscorers were cross-checked before this update.
Disclaimer: Prediction and upset assessments are editorial football analysis, not betting advice. Team selections, injuries and circumstances can change the outlook of a match.
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