TUESDAY

Leicester City 2 Chelsea 3

Before the game

TABLES TURNED IN EFL CLASH AS CHELSEA SCRABBLE FOR SILVERWARE

Due to the complete and total failure of Chelsea to be any good whatsoever last season, Tuesday sees a very rare midweek outing for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.

With Manchester City already flying high at the top of the table, no European competition, and the FA Cup always a bit of a lottery, the EFL Cup might be the brightest and best hope for the Stamford Bridge outfit to win some silverware.

In further proof of how completely madcap the EPL season was last year, it is Leicester City that go into the clash with thoughts on balancing form both in the Premier League and the Champions League. However, there is also quite the reality check that the form is temporary but cash is permanent with Chelsea looking to unleash “fringe” players such as Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and Cesc Fabregas at the King Power Stadium.

There well be another reminder of the mega bucks pull of Chelsea with the return of N'Golo Kante to Leicester, with the midfield lynch pin of last season’s miracle coming back after a $30 million move to Stamford Bridge over the summer.

As to be expected, amiable Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri bears no grudges as the Italian looks to make it three wins on the bounce for the EPL champions who are starting to rediscover last year’s fantastic form. "I will be very happy if our fans clap him at the beginning and afterwards," declared the Italian.

WEDNESDAY

Northampton 1, Manchester United 3

NO ROOM FOR ERROR AS MOURINHO LOOKS TO AVOID MORE FOOTBALLING FAILURE

This is a clash that should be a cakewalk for Manchester United…a stroll through the daisies of sport…a mere tick in the box of success.

After all, these are the biggest spenders in the world, a team with Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the squad, taking on Northampton Town, a supposedly lowly team that can be found mid-table in the third tier of English football and still licking its wounds after an away defeat to Chesterfield, all be it to end a 31-match unbeaten run. But that was before United lost the Manchester derby…and then fell to Feyenoord in the Europa League…and were then overturned by Watford last weekend to see Jose Mourinho losing three competitive games in a row as a coach for the first time in a decade.

On the plus side, the visit to the Sixfields stadium might just be the tonic United need ahead of the visit of Leicester City to Old Trafford on Saturday. Then again, it could be a banana skin to turn a concern into a full-blown crisis with Manchester United having been knocked out of the League Cup by lower league opposition over the past two seasons. A hat trick setbacks would not be good at all.

Barcelona 1, Atletico Madrid 1

Before the game

ATLETICO TO TEST BARCELONA METTLE IN LATE NIGHT CAMP NOU CLASH

At 10 o’clock local time on Wednesday night, Luis Enrique will know whether or not the visit of Atletico Madrid will be a nice-to-win match for Barcelona…or a must-win.

By that time, Real Madrid would have played their own round five clash against Villarreal and could well have opened a six-point gap at the top of the table with a victory. As if the Camp Nou battle was not going to be difficult enough already.

After a sluggish start to the season, Atletico Madrid have now found their familiar Rojiblanco form – incisive up front and almost impenetrably tight at the back. Only one goal has been conceded in the team’s five games so far this season in Spain and the Champions League and an Antoine Griezmann-inspired forward line has scored nine in the past two league games, without a sniff of a reply.

Despite the awesome firepower of both sides, these clashes are normally fairly tight affairs between two teams who are unwilling to give too much away. Six out of the last seven games have been decided by just the single strike, last season’s Champions League win in the Vicente Calderon for Atletico being the exception. The match may well become a fiery test of the unstoppable object hitting a rock of granite, but it will be nothing less than compelling.