Oh hello. Bit of a risky one for Manchester City keeper Trafford as he picks the ball up right on the edge of his penalty box.

That looked pretty borderline.

Early pressure for Doncaster and it's Glenn Middleton with the volley in the box that is well blocked.

That was flying towards goal.

We're under way up and down the country in the EFL Cup third round.

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The draw for the fourth round will take place straight after tonight's games.

The 16 winners from the third round will go into the hat straight after Arsenal's match at Port Vale.

The fourth round fixtures will take place across the week beginning on 27 October.

BBC Sounds

Busy evening ahead? Don't forget you can take tonight's commentaries along with you on the BBC Sounds app and listen on the go.

You can also get commentary of Port Vale v Arsenal or Tottenham v Doncaster Rovers only on BBC Sounds. Just scroll through the live radio dial at the top of BBC Sounds and tap on Sports Extra 2 or Sports Extra 3.

Can Thomas Frank do what his predecessor Ange Postecoglou did and bring a trophy to north London?

Frank said: "I don't know any coach or manager or player that doesn't want to compete and try to win. We are really looking forward to going into the Carabao Cup and will do everything we can to try to win it. We play for that."

Port Vale and Arsenal have only been paired up against each other once in cup competitions since the 1920s and that came in 1998 during Arsene Wenger's time in charge of the north London club.

On their way to Wenger's first of seven FA Cup triumphs, the Gunners struggled to find a way through their second-tier opponents at Highbury and had to settle for a replay.

The replay at tonight's venue was more of the same and only a penalty shoot-out could separate an Arsenal side that included the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright and Patrick Vieira, and the Vale.

Image source, Getty Images

Ciaran Kelly
BBC Sport reporter at St James' Park

Bradford's travelling support may be tucked away up in the gods at St James' Park.

But they are already making themselves heard during the warm-ups as they repeatedly sing "take me home, Midland road".

Around 4,900 Bradford fans expected in the away end tonight.

Shamoon Hafez
Football news reporter at Accu Stadium

Back to where it all began for me tonight with a trip to Huddersfield, where I attended university and completing my work placement in this very stadium.

Enough about the life story, there's a game to get stuck into.

Manchester City are on a run of six games in 18 days and surprisingly, Pep Guardiola has named a rather strong starting line-up for this third round tie.

Kalvin Phillips is on the bench and there were a few jeers for the ex-Leeds United midfielder when his name was read out.

Huddersfield boss Lee Grant is taking charge of his first managerial role and will be looking to get one over on City, having been a former Manchester United goalkeeper.

Image source, Getty Images

Port Vale manager Darren Moore says facing Arsenal in the EFL Cup is a "wonderful game" that will force his side to be at their best.

"Every week you prepare to be the best. We do that every week in the league but the team we're playing on Wednesday forces you to have no room for error - in your work, preparation, performance," Moore told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's a wonderful game for us all connected with the football club. It's a game that forces you, whatever area you're in, to be your best.

"It's the games that, every week, we're challenging ourselves to be in these situations where where want to be at our best."

Port Vale might not be setting the world alight in League One, where they sit 19th in the table, but they have hit a patch of form, winning back-to-back games to drag themselves out of the relegation places.

On the back of losing four league games in a row, Vale have beaten Exeter City and Mansfield Town to enter this EFL Cup clash against Arsenal with some much-needed momentum.

Could they carry on this winning run and cause an almighty upset tonight?

It may come as a surprise to hear that Arsenal have only won two League Cups in their history and the last one came back in 1993.

They have also been runners-up five times, most recently in 2018, when they were beaten 3-0 by Man City.

Image source, Getty Images

I wonder if we'll see Pep Guardiola plant 11 men in their own half again this evening?

It seems unlikely but the Spaniard's tactics against Arsenal on Sunday are part of a growing trend at the club.

City had just 32.8% possession at the Emirates - the lowest they have had under Guardiola, and the lowest he has overseen in his any of his 601 top-flight matches as a manager.

Only twice in their five league games this season have City topped 60% possession, an average they have surpassed in every season since Guardiola took charge. In two-thirds of those campaigns, the figure has been over 65%.

Last season City's average possession was 61.6%, their lowest figure yet under Guardiola. Even so, it was the best figure of any Premier League team, as it has been in every year of the Spaniard's reign. In 2017-18, their average of 71.7% was almost 10% more than any other side.

But in 2025-26, City lie eighth in the possession charts, with a comparatively measly 52.4%.

The last time Newcastle and Bradford met in a competitive match was more than 20 years ago.

Their last Premier League meeting came in March 2001 - a 2-2 draw at Valley Parade.

It's fair to say there's been ups and downs for both clubs since then so who knows what we'll get this evening.

But Bradford are flying high at the top of League One and will fancy an upset at St James' Park.

Newcastle may be struggling to score goals in the Premier League this season following the departure of Alexander Isak to Liverpool but their defence has been rock solid.

Eddie Howe's side have kept a league-high four clean sheets in five matches. The Magpies have only conceded three goals in the league so far, all of which came in the loss to Liverpool when the visitors scored twice after Newcastle had gone down to 10 men.

Newcastle also have the lowest expected goals tally against (2.6) of any Premier League team so far this season, have faced the fewest shots (37) and are yet to make an error leading to a goal.

Their almost flawless defence has been particularly useful on the road, earning three points in goalless draws at Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth.

But tonight could be a chance for some of their attacking players to find a bit of goal scoring form.

Image source, Getty Images

Doncaster’s only previous win in nine meetings with Tottenham in all competitions was their first in December 1935, drawing two and losing six of their eight matches since. They have lost all four of their away games at Spurs while shipping 14 goals in the process.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham won their first trophy since 2008 in May when they beat Man Utd to win the Europa League.

Now with Thomas Frank at the helm, the aim remains to further to their cabinet with Spurs taking this competition seriously.

Frank said: "I would like us to compete in all four tournaments across the year. If you're going to do that, you need to pick the right team all the time. Every time we put a team out there it is super strong. We need to hit that perfect number of players that rotate and a strong team."

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City's jam packed schedule continues with the EFL Cup and Huddersfield tonight following their draw against Arsenal a couple of days ago.

City captain Bernardo Silva says his side were at a disadvantage because of their schedule.

Pep Guardiola's side had 66 hours to prepare for the game after their 2-0 home win over Napoli in the Champions League on Thursday, with Arsenal having won 2-0 against Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday.

"It is not fair to play one of these games like this," said Silva. "It is just not right.

"The reality is we cannot come in to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest.

"I wasn't feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don't know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition."

Uefa schedules Champions League matches, while the Premier League organises domestic fixtures for English clubs.

Chances are Guardiola will ring the changes tonight but it's certainly been a tough couple of weeks for his side.

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