The start of the World Cup is less than two weeks away but there is still plenty of club football to look forward to on Wednesday while there are also two matches in the Women's Rugby League World Cup to enjoy.
There are eight EFL Cup third-round games set to take place on Wednesday with the pick of the ties seeing Graham Potter’s Chelsea visit Manchester City, winners of the competition six times in the last decade.
Chelsea target Cup tonic
| What | Manchester City v Chelsea, EFL Cup third round |
| Where | Etihad Stadium, Manchester |
| When | 20:00, Wednesday 9th November 2022 |
| How to watch | Sky Sports Main Event |
| Odds | Manchester City 1/2, Draw 4/1, Chelsea 19/4 |
Chelsea, beaten by Liverpool in last season’s final, have not won the EFL Cup since the 2014/15 campaign when they defeated Tottenham 2-0.
They head into Wednesday’s clash on the back of successive Premier League defeats to Brighton and Arsenal and will be desperate to stop the rot against Pep Guardiola’s side, who have won four and lost one of their last five meetings with Chelsea.
Elsewhere, Championship side Blackburn are 9/1 to cause a shock by beating inconsistent West Ham, who have never won the competition and were last in the final more than 40 years ago.
In-form Newcastle are 8/11 to win the all-Premier League encounter with Crystal Palace while Southampton, who axed Ralph Hasenhuttl on Monday, are available at 8/15 to beat League One Sheffield Wednesday.
Celtic aim to turn the screw
| What | Motherwell v Celtic |
| Where | Fir Park, Motherwell |
| When | 19:45, Wednesday 9th November 2022 |
| How to watch | N/A |
| Odds | Motherwell 10/1, Draw 19/4, Celtic 2/7 |
Celtic are seven points clear at the top of the table despite making hard work of seeing off Dundee United 4-2 in their last match and they should have little difficulty beating Motherwell on Wednesday.
Celtic have an excellent record against the Steelmen, having won their last 14 games against Wednesday's opponents in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Rangers are enduring a crisis of confidence as, after losing all six of their Champions League group games, they slumped to a 2-1 defeat against St Johnstone at the weekend.
They will not have it all their own way against fourth-placed Hearts, who are 17/2 to triumph at Ibrox.
Simeone seeks crucial victory
| What | Mallorca v Atletico Madrid |
| Where | Visit Mallorca Stadium, Palma de Mallorca |
| When | 20:30, Wednesday 9th November 2022 |
| How to watch | LaLiga TV and bet365’s Sports Live Streaming |
| Odds | Malllorca 14/5, Draw 21/10, Atletico Madrid 11/10 |
It feels as though it is the end of an era at Atletico Madrid as Diego Simeone’s team have already crashed out of the Champions League and failed to win any of their last four matches across all competitions.
They may still be third in La Liga but they desperately need a victory against Mallorca on Wednesday to ease the pressure on their long-serving boss.
On a busy evening of football across Europe, there are four other top-flight games in Spain as well as five Serie A clashes, including Bologna’s visit to Inter Milan, and five Bundesliga matches.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Rugby League World Cup, England, 10/1 to win the tournament outright, take on Papua New Guinea and Brazil face Canada.
