Liverpool, Chelsea and City crash out in a night where very few fringe players made the kind of impact that will see them figure on the Premier League stage and come into our Fantasy thinking.

Emile Heskey was the exception – instantly reborn under his old gaffer Gerard Houllier, the big striker put in an inspired shift after emerging from the bench as Villa prevailed against Big Sam’s Blackburn. Anyone care to start the Heskey bandwagon? I don’t think that’s been in service since 1998.

Here’s some notes from last night’s Carling events…

Roy Hodgson fielded a mix of youth and experience but could not have expected his chosen eleven to struggle and fall at the hands of Northampton. The likes of Agger, Kyrgiakos, Lucas, Jovanovic, Babel and Ngog all started, giving Liverpool the nucleus of a side that really should have overwhelmed their League Two opponent. We can certainly gather from this that Hodgson’s lineup for the home encounter with Sunderland is very unlikely to include any of last night’s selection and the new Liverpool boss will know now that the concept of strength in depth is not something he can rely on.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side were not only dumped out of the Carling Cup, they also suffered notable casualties with Kalou and Benayoun picking up injuries that seem likely to rule them out of the league trip to City this weekend. While neither are automatic selections in Ancelotti’s eleven, their absence will cut his options. For Fantasy Managers it’s good news – Kalou’s absence surely guarantees a start for Malouda and probably Anelka, despite his 90 minutes last night. John Terry was also withdrawn at half-time although Ancelotti is insisting that he will be available for the City trip. The inclusion of Paulo Ferreira in last night’s side also indicates that he could miss out against City with Ivanovic taking the right-back role and Alex partnering Terry in the centre.

Chris Hughton gave a debut to Sol Campbell, only to see the ex-England man clumsily clash with keeper Tim Krul to hand Chelsea the opening goal. Like Ancelotti, he fielded a largely second-string squad and would have been delighted with the performance, particularly that of two-goal hero Ameobi. The inclusion of both Gutierrez and Smith in last night’s XI would suggest that both will remain on the bench against Stoke this weekend.

United included Rio Ferdinand in their lineup for the 5-2 win at Scunthorpe which could suggest that once again, he will miss out at Bolton this weekend. The inclusion of Park Ji-Sung would also hint that he may have to make do with a bench role at the Reebok. The two goals from Owen went a long way to announcing his availability as an option to Ferguson but it’s difficult to see him breaking into the Premier League lineup for the foreseeable given Berbatov’s form.

Ashley Young followed up on his free-kick against Bolton with two goals in the 3-1 win over Blackburn. Gerard Houllier started with an Agbonlahor/Carew partnership up front but finished the match with Young playing up with sub Emile Heskey. Both combined to some effect to give Houllier plenty to think about ahead of the trip to Wolves with Houllier heaping praise on Heskey post-match. A 4-4-2 looks likely though and with Agbonlahor picking up a calf problem (thought to be severe cramp) on 30 minutes, we could well see Heskey and Young both start at Molineux. Barry Bannan had an impressive and influential game for Villa and he could yet make an impact for Villa if Houllier takes a shine to him.

Sam Allardyce was bitterly disappointed with his sides’ showing at Villa Park and very few of his second-string players will have advanced their claims for starting roles come the trip to Blackpool. In truth Big Sam fielded a strong side with Nelsen, Givet, Jones and Pedersen regulars in the league. Martin Olsson returned from a recent shoulder injury to start last night and he could come into Allardyce’s plans at the weekend.

West Brom continued their strong home form with the 2-1 win over a second-string Man City. Roberto Di Matteo also rested players and only really Shorey and Dorrans would seem likely to make an impact on the teamsheet for the trip to the Emirates this weekend. Dorrans looked sharp and inventive and while he may see little joy at Arsenal, he remains off the radar as a decent mid-price midfield proposition.

Roberto Mancini stressed after the Hawthorns defeat that he was taking the Carling Cup seriously but his teamsheet clearly said otherwise. The inclusion of Adam Johnson amongst the fringe players suggests that he will again be left on the bench for the visit of Chelsea this weekend. A start for David Silva looks likely then. Meanwhile Mancini has stressed that injuries are beginning to mount and he has key problems at the back where Bridge, Boateng, Kolarov, Lescott and now Richards are all sidelined. The latter has a hamstring that may keep him out against Chelsea which would mean that Zabeleta would be City’s only fit full-back.

Wigan sneaked past Championship Preston with a late late winner from N’Zogbia. The winger started the night on the bench as Roberto Martinez rotated his team to hand opportunities to the likes of Watson, Gomez and Steven Caldwell who returned from injury. Wigan lost Hendry Thomas to a shin injury on 71 minutes and Martinez is also reporting knocks for Stam and Di Santo ahead of the trip to Birmingham.