We’re down to the final three of Tuesday’s EFL Cup ties involving Premier League clubs.
Wins for Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion, and a defeat for Burnley, undergo the Scout Notes inquest.
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TUESDAY’S RESULTS
| Team | Opponent | Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton and Hove Albion | Barnsley (a) | 6-0 win | Gomez x4, Howell, Ayari | Watson x3, Welbeck, Coppola |
| Burnley | Cardiff City (h) | 1-2 loss | Flemming | Edwards |
| Fulham | Cambridge United (h) | 1-0 win | Smith-Rowe | Castagne |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW5 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 8 | Veltman (65), Baleba (53), Kadioglu (45) | Steele (90), Coppola (90), Boscagli (90), Watson (90), Welbeck (90), Milner (90), Gomez (75), Tzimas (65), Tasker (45), Ayari (37), Kostoulas (25), van Hecke (25), Howell (15) |
| Burnley | 11 | – | Weiss (90), Sonne (90), Tuanzebe (90), Worrall (90), Humphreys (90), Pires (90), Hannibal (90), Flemming (87), Edwards (78), Broja (78), Ugochukwu (68), Banel (22), Tresor (12), Barnes (12), Clark (3) |
| Fulham | 11 | – | Lecomte (90), Castagne (90), Diop (90), Cuenca (90), Robinson (90), Cairney (90), Kevin (87), Smith Rowe (82), Raul (82), Adama (60), Reed (60), King (30), Chukwueze (30), Muniz (8), Berge (8), Wilson (3) |
MASS ROTATION
As seen above, these three teams rotated wildly on Tuesday night. Burnley and Fulham made wholesale changes, while the only Brighton survivors from Gameweek 5 were the two full-backs and Carlos Baleba (£4.8m). Even those three had managed minutes.
Popular(ish) FPL picks like Martin Dubravka (£4.0m), Maxime Esteve (£4.0m), Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), Josh King (£4.5m), Bart Verbruggen (£5.0m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£6.4m) either had the night off completely or were limited to minutes off the bench.
So, the teams that will be sent out in Gameweek 6 will likely have little resemblance to those we saw against Football League opposition in midweek.
It means meaningful takeaways from the Carabao Cup are in short supply.
FOUR-GOAL GOMEZ
One ‘second-string’ Brighton player pushing for a Gameweek 6 start is Diego Gomez (£4.9m).
The Paraguayan midfielder scored a remarkable four goals on Tuesday, hitting a hat-trick in the first half. Two of them were absolute thunderbolts, too, sandwiched by more predatory strikes from inside the box.
He’d only scored twice in his entire Seagulls career before that…
Gomez featured in an unusual role (for him) at Oakwell, playing off the right but very much drifting centrally. Ferdi Kadioglu (£4.4m) was duly switched from left-back to right-back to offer the width that Gomez wasn’t providing.
Above: Diego Gomez’s heatmap on Tuesday, via Sofascore
“We always knew that he has an unbelievable shot if he comes to a chance that he can score. He played a little bit different position today so we are really happy for him because he is a guy who is working hard.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Diego Gomez
The right wing is, of course, Yankuba Minteh‘s (£5.9m) usual position – he’s been arguably Brighton’s best player in 2025/26 – while Mats Wieffer (£4.9m) could be back in Gameweek 6 to invert from right-back.
I asked Hurzeler about Wieffer’s absence.
Just a small issue. He is expected to train today or tomorrow. #BHAFC— Andy Naylor (@AndyNaylorBHAFC) September 24, 2025
No guarantees that Gomez starts against Chelsea, then, despite his midweek heroics.
A long-term hope in the budget forward pool, Stefanos Tzimas (£5.4m), was given his first Brighton start as his slow integration into English football continues. He should have done better with a one-on-one in the first half but was unlucky to see a second-half effort headed off the line, while he should have had an assist for a chance that he set up for Baleba. A work in progress, still.
Danny Welbeck (£6.3m) lasting 90 minutes here was also perhaps an indication that Georginio Rutter (£5.8m) is again going to be up top in Gameweek 6.
KEVIN INJURY + SMITH ROWE KEEPS PRESSURE ON KING
Fulham’s hard-earned win over League Two side Cambridge United was marred by a shoulder injury sustained by mercurial summer signing Kevin (£6.0m).
The winger, all tricks, take-ons and long shots (with very mixed results on Tuesday), was in a fair bit of pain according to his manager after full-time:
Fulham assessing Kevin injury#FFC pic.twitter.com/EsLY87OFru
— West London Sport (@WestLondonSport) September 23, 2025
The Brazilian was part of a much-changed Fulham XI that was left frustrated by their plucky visitors, who had some success in suffocating the Cottagers. Marco Silva’s side had 77% of possession and didn’t concede a single shot on target but in turn, they failed to muster many clear openings. The first half, especially, was drab.
Raul Jimenez (£6.5m) had a game-high six shots but only tested Cambridge’s Jake Eastwood with one of them, a 66th-minute volley that immediately preceded the deadlock-breaker.
That goal came courtesy of Emile Smith Rowe (£5.9m), exerting pressure on ever-present league starter King. It has to be said that Smith Rowe wasn’t great aside from that strike, however, and Silva sent for King after an hour to help boost the runners into the box. Smith Rowe and King were, in effect, ‘dual eights’ in their time together on the pitch.
Forgotten FPL man Antonee Robinson (£5.0m) got through his first 90 minutes for the club since his knee surgery in the summer. Still understandably rusty, he’ll likely be back down among the substitutes come Gameweek 6.
A GOOD ADVERT FOR THE FIRST TEAM
There’s little that needs to be said about Tuesday’s fixture at Turf Moor as not only did Scott Parker change his entire starting XI, none of his Gameweek 5 line-up were even on the bench against Cardiff City.
We might as well be reporting on a B-team fixture here, then.
And no great surprise that the Clarets were very disjointed, with their ragtag group of reserves and players building up match fitness.
“I’m disappointed overall with the performance, especially the first-half, I thought we were way short of where we needed to be in every aspect of that game really.” – Scott Parker, via the Burnley Express
Falling 2-0 behind in the first half, they were only handed a lifeline when Millwall ‘keeper Nathan Trott gifted the ball to Marcus Edwards (£4.8m), who teed up Zian Flemming (£5.4m) for a fine finish.
Flemming was last season’s main man up front and was the likeliest source of goals even before his consolation, seeing one effort blocked and another saved. He and the disappointing Armando Broja (£5.4m) both had four shots apiece but in truth, both seem way off Lyle Foster (£5.0m) right now.
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