Which African All-Stars could make their mark in Carabao Cup?

The talented London-born centre-back was handed a maiden call-up to Manchester City’s senior squad in January 2021, having excelled with the club’s Elite Development Squad.

Considering Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves a little thin at the back heading into their Carabao Cup meeting with Wycombe Wanderers—Aymeric Laporte and John Stones are absent—it could be an ideal opportunity to throw Mbete in alongside Nathan Ake.

The Guinea midfielder has had numerous opportunities to establish himself as a first-team regular at Liverpool, but for various reasons—including injury and fitness problems—he’s struggled to nail down a consistent spot.

This could be about to change.

He came off the bench to net a delicious volley against Crystal Palace on Saturday, and with Thiago Alcantara suffering an injury problem of his own, opportunity knocks.

The midweek Carabao Cup bout against Norwich City is an ideal opportunity for Keita to start for the Reds, but can he do enough to nail down a starting berth?

Another African at Liverpool who could be in line to feature against the Canaries is Konate, who made his full Premier League bow against Palace on Saturday.

With a handful of injury absentees in the Reds backline, and with Jurgen Klopp expected to shuffle his pack against Norwich, Konate should get another opportunity to further adapt to life in the English game.

Despite a nervy few opening stages against Palace, Konate largely impressed alongside Virgil van Dijk, even if a tussle with Christian Benteke represented a baptism of fire.

The arrival of Raphael Varane at Manchester United has pushed Bailly even further down the pecking order at Old Trafford, although the Carabao Cup represents an opportunity for him to get some rare playing time.

He should make his first start of the season against West Ham United, although he’ll be aware that regardless of his performance, he’s unlikely to force his way into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans ahead of the Norwegian coach’s first-choice pairing.

It will be intriguing to see who partners Bailly at the back; will Solskjaer go with Lindelof, or could Phil Jones be given an opportunity to reignite his flagging United career?

While the arrival of Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea has prompted a major upturn in the careers of multiple Blues players, Hudson-Odoi has not benefited from the arrival of the German coach.

The winger has made just one Premier League start this term, following on from only 10 starts (and 13 substitute appearances) last season, and is in danger of not realising his immense potential.

He should be given another opportunity against Aston Villa at home on Wednesday, where he will be hoping to showcase the quality that has reportedly prompted transfer interest from Liverpool.

Despite having played competitively for England, Hudson-Odoi remains eligible for Ghana due to the recent Fifa rule change, and the Black Stars are understood to be actively pursuing him.

Despite the fanfare that accompanied his arrival at Leicester City, and the optimism that’s accompanied his brief cameos to date, Daka’s contributes to the Foxes cause have—so far—been brief.

He’s only played 26 minutes in the Prem—coming off the bench in the 4-1 defeat by West Ham United—and was also overlooked for the starting line-up for the Community Shield victory over Manchester City.

His only start came in the Europa League against Napoli, when he appeared isolated and struggled to influence proceedings from a wide position.

A start away at Millwall on Wednesday should give him the opportunity to truly kick off his Foxes career.