Europa League league phase and EFL Carabao Cup round three headline busy soccer midweek action

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Midweek cup action continues across Europe, headlined by the first round of league phase fixtures in the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest in the middle of a busy week.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Wednesday, Sept. 24
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Huddersfield Town vs. Manchester City, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UEL: Real Betis vs. Nottingham Forest, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸 MLS: New York City FC vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass

Thursday, Sept. 25
🇪🇺 UEL: Aston Villa vs. Bologna, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Network
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Oviedo vs. Barcelona, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

⚽ The Forward Line

🇪🇺 The Europa League specialist is back

It has been a few years since Unai Emery last led a team in the UEFA Europa League, but the competition's most successful manager will make his comeback on Thursday when Aston Villa host Bologna with the hopes of proving their worth as the oddsmakers' favorites to win the whole thing.

Emery, a five-time Europa League finalist and four-time winner, is far from the only reason the odds favor Villa. This season's competition is mostly made up of teams one might expect to see in Europe's second-best club competition, Roma and last season's UEFA Conference League finalists Real Betis among the group, Emery's side rising to the top of that list easily considering their powers. Many of their core players, like goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and forward Ollie Watkins, stuck around despite links to other Premier League rivals over the summer.

The manager should be in his happy place, as James Benge describes it, when he returns to the Europa League touchline on Thursday, but all is not well in Birmingham. Villa have scored just one goal in five Premier League games, becoming the last team in England's top four divisions to score their opening goal of the season in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland. Villa have complained about the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, their need to be compliant impacting their summer business, but as Benge notes, Emery is struggling to get strong performances out of his group of mainstays.

Benge: "The bigger question is whether the Premier League is moving away from a style of play that suits Emery. There is more and more focus on athleticism, wing play and rapid counter-attacking. Villa are not without talent to suit that approach, particularly if Morgan Rogers can show his England form at club level once more, but it is not one that sits easily with a coach whose sides approach the flanks with the skittishness of a pilot hovering by the Bermuda Triangle. The league sample size is only five games, but what if a [non-penalty expected goal difference] of -3.87, a bar only Burnley slither under, is telling us something about how Emery copes with this new meta?"

The Europa League may offer a reprieve for Emery's battered-and-bruised tactical approach, recent history suggesting that this competition can be a redeeming aspect of an up-and-down season. Last season's champions Tottenham Hotspur did just that while finishing 17th in the Premier League, their Europa League-winning manager Ange Postecoglou now back in the competition with Nottingham Forest. Postecoglou's new side, the oddsmakers' second choice to win the whole thing, are winless in three games to start his tenure and while a trip to Betis technically offers a chance to correct course, it may be easier said than done for a team who swapped an ultra-defensive manager for a very attack-minded one.

Live This Saturday

🔗 Midfield Link Play

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup third round comes to a close

EFL Cup third round action wraps up on Wednesday with Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United hoping to join their fellow heavy-hitters by booking their spots in the next round.

Liverpool and Chelsea each collected 2-1 wins against lower-league opponents on Tuesday, though the matches came with their own complications. Hugo Ekitike nabbed the game-winning goal for the Reds against Southampton in the 85th minute but was sent off moments later, picking up a second yellow for celebrating by taking his shirt off and will now miss their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this weekend. The Blues, meanwhile, conceded first to League One side Lincoln City but rebounded with second half goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte.

Straightforward outings likely await the Premier League teams that will play on Wednesday, each of them matched up with League One sides to kick off their EFL Cup journeys. For City and manager Pep Guardiola in particular, Wednesday's match at Huddersfield Town will offer a chance for a more relaxed tactical strategy after a tensely-contested 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, one in which Guardiola took an unusually conservative stylistic approach. The manager defended his choices in a press conference on Tuesday, arguing it was the defensive approach was necessary because City were second-best against the Gunners.

Guardiola: "Sometimes the opponents are good and create a challenge that we cannot handle. Until I retire in this club or retire, I would love to play in the way I want to play. Sometimes we are not good, sometimes the opponent is better. When we defend deeper it's because they are better or we are s---. In the principles, I prefer us to regain the ball high up the pitch, make a lot of possession to disturb the structure of the opponents and try to punish them. Always it's been like that and always I will be like that. If it doesn't happen it is because we were bad, not because we want to do that."

🔗 Top Stories

🔴 Isak's time to shine: Alexander Isak scored his first goal for Liverpool in their EFL Cup win against Southampton, a sign that the Sweden international is beginning to make his case as the Reds' starting striker.

🏆 Dembele, Bonmati win Ballon d'Or: Ousmane Dembele and Aitana Bonmati took home top honors at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony on Monday, serving a source of pride for Demblee's mother and a point of contention for Lamine Yamal's father. Plus, a way-too-early look at next year's race for the men's trophy.

🌎 A 64 team World Cup?: During a meeting in New York on Tuesday, officials from CONMEBOL formally pitched FIFA on the idea of a 64 team World Cup to celebrate the tournament's centennial in 2030, though it remains unlikely to happen.

⚪ Vinicius Junior scores: Vinicius Junior opened the scoring in Real Madrid's 4-1 win at Levante on Tuesday, proving his worth after he was benched for the team's Champions League win over Marseille last week.

🇺🇳 UN experts ask for Israel ban: A group of United Nations called upon FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, describing the action as a "necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" during the Israel-Hamas War.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

UEFA Europa League: 2025-26 champion
💰 THE PICK: Aston Villa to win the Europa League (+650) – Things may not be going well for Aston Villa in Premier League play but as last season's champions Tottenham Hotspur prove, that does not disqualify a team from making a deep run in European competition or even winning the whole thing. Villa may not have spent big in the summer but their best players stuck around, from World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to Ollie Watkins, who scored 17 goals last season in all competitions. There's no reason to discount them against their European foes and that's without considering perhaps their greatest strength of all – they are managed by Unai Emery, the Europa League expert who has won the competition four times.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.

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