Burnley returns to the pitch today, and there’s much joy to be had. They’re playing in the EFL Cup, which is also evidently the League Cup, and is formally titled the Carabao Cup. No one seems happy about this. Except Carabao, I suppose. I wonder what Carabao is. We’ll circle back to that.
Who:
Burnley vs. Sheffield United.
What:
League Cup, second round.
The League Cup includes all 92 teams in the Premier League, Championship League, and Leagues One and Two, with 70 teams entering in the first round (the wholes of Leagues One and Two plus 22 of the 24 Championship League teams), 15 entering in the second round (the two remaining Championship League teams plus the 13 Premier Leaguers not playing in the Champions League or the Europa League), and the final seven entering in the third round. So this is effectively the round of 64, but there are only fifty teams playing. And Burnley managed to draw another Premier League team. Drat.
Where:
Turf Moor, baby. The Disco Inferno.
When:
11:30 AM American Central Daylight Time
How to Watch:
Doesn’t look like it’s on TV, and it’s not available for streaming in the states. Not that we’d watch anyway, but this does mean we’ll all be in the same boat of checking Twitter during each pickup and delivery while driving Uber Eats over the lunch hour. See you there.
What’s at Stake:
Our lads could grab a Europa League bid by winning the Carabao Cup, but it’s unclear if teams try that hard to win it, especially before the end. Worth noting that if the Burnleys win, they’ll play at Championship League middle-of-the-packer Millwall in the third round, seemingly next week?
The Odds:
Don’t know let’s check ok hey the Europa League started ok ok where’s the Carabao Cup hmm let’s start with Europe ok ok now England ok ok there it is EFL Cup.
Burnley’s a narrow favorite. -130 against +100 on the moneyline on Bovada, but I don’t know if that accounts for penalty kicks.
The Opponent:
I was under the impression Sheffield was the oldest Football Club in the world, and while it turns out that’s correct, it also turns out that’s Sheffield F.C., not Sheffield United. Sheffield F.C.’s at Level 8 on the English Pyramid system, four levels down from League Two and seven levels down from the Premier League. So I had the wrong Sheffield.
Last year was Sheffield United’s first season back in the EPL since 2006-07. They finished tied with Burnley on points but ahead by seven in goal differential, so ninth in the table. Beat the Burnleys three-nil at Sheffield in November. Drew in July, 1-1, at Turf Moor.
Sheffield, the city, is in South Yorkshire, which is across West Yorkshire from Lancashire, which is where Burnley’s at. Sheffield’s the third-biggest city in England, which means it’s about the size of Milwaukee (compared to Burnley, which is roughly Bismarck-sized). So these are big city boys coming out to the small market. Hope they’re ready (just kidding I hope they aren’t and that Burnley pulverizes them).
Transfer Window News:
The Transfer Window continues for a few more weeks. At the beginning, there was some buzz about Nick Pope potentially going to Chelsea, but nothing’s come of that so far. Ben Gibson, a defender who never played much for Bertie’s Boys (seems like there’s more of a story there but I’m not taking the time to go find it), is on loan to Norwich for the season and it doesn’t sound like he’ll return when the loan’s up. West Ham’s been making bids for James Tarkowski, but Burnley keeps rejecting them. Burnley’s allegedly making a bid for Robin Quaison, a Swedish midfielder playing for Mainz in Germany’s Bundesliga. For now, though, looks like the same roster we ended last season seeing.
Other News:
Nothing I know of.
Ok, What’s Carabao:
Oh yeah. Let’s check.
*pause*
Per Wikipedia, “The carabao is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo native to the Philippines.”
Also looks like it’s the name of a Thai energy drink.
Unclear which one is sponsoring the League Cup.
Is There Another Type of Water Buffalo?
Yeah, river-type. Considered a subspecies (thanks, Encyclopedia Brittanica).
Bertie News:
You know, I haven’t seen that old bee in a while. Hope he’s up to some good mischief today.
