The Carabao Cup fourth round concludes this evening with Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and holders Liverpool among the teams battling it out for a quarter-final spot. All three London clubs beat lower league opposition in the previous round and now face varying tasks.
For the Gunners, a trip to Championship side Preston North End awaits while Chelsea are also on their travels as they take on Newcastle at St James' Park. Spurs meanwhile, face a significant challenge as they take on Manchester City, who have won the competition five times in the last nine years, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Elsewhere, three all-Premier League ties are also scheduled with Aston Villa hosting Crystal Palace, Leicester making the trip to managerless Manchester United and Brighton welcoming Liverpool. Brentford and Southampton have both already earnt a spot in the quarter-final after winning their fourth round games on Tuesday.
The Bees needed penalties to beat Sheffield Wednesday as their clash ended 1-1 after Djeidi Gassama cancelled out Kevin Schade's opener. Southampton meanwhile, just avoided embarrassment after initially surrendering a two-goal lead to Stoke with James Bree netting the winner.
Had he missed that opportunity, a penalty shoot-out would have likely followed as it did just 72 miles away in west London. As is the case throughout the Carabao Cup, except in the semi-final and final, if a game ends level following the conclusion of 90 minutes, penalties will follow immediately.
In the first few round of the competition, extra time is not used but as evidenced by last season's final at Wembley, that is not always the case. Just before the 120th minute, Virgil van Dijk scored a bullet header to win the trophy for Liverpool against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.