A first-ever EFL Cup meeting between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United takes place on Wednesday night, as the two sides renew hostilities for round three.

Steve Davis's side beat Preston North End 2-1 in round two to make it this far, while the Whites overcame Barnsley by three goals to one.

Match preview

Despite managing to score two goals in a Premier League fixture for the first time this season, Goncalo Guedes and Ruben Neves's strikes were not enough to see Wolves get the better of Brighton & Hove Albion in a 3-2 Molineux defeat at the weekend.

Karou Mitoma and Adam Lallana struck for the visitors before Nelson Semedo saw red for hauling down the former, and the 10 men of Wolves could not hang on for a point as their relegation woes deepened, with a three-point gap now separating them from the safety of 17th place.

Newly-hired head coach Julen Lopetegui will continue to watch on from the stands for the time being as Davis remains in charge until the World Cup, as Wolves aim to build on their nervy 2-1 win over Preston in the second round, where Bruno Lage was not afraid to name a strong XI.

Two-time winners of the EFL Cup in 1974 and 1980, Wolves were eliminated from the third round of the tournament by Tottenham Hotspur on penalties last year, and not since 2011-12 have they managed to make it any further than round four.

Conceding 10 goals in their last four games will not be music to the ears of Wolves fans, whose side have failed to win any of their last four Premier League matches, and their upcoming opponents were on the correct end of a top-flight goal fest at the weekend.

Just one week after sending the travelling Leeds fans into pandemonium with a last-minute winner at Anfield - the day before his 21st birthday - Crysencio Summerville made lightning strike twice with an even more dramatic late goal in a seven-goal thriller with Bournemouth.

Despite finding themselves 3-1 down in front of their own fans, Jesse Marsch's men responded through Liam Cooper, Sam Greenwood and emerging star Summerville in the final few moments, with Elland Road erupting after their side made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since March.

A three-point chasm now separates Leeds from the drop zone - with a game in hand over all of the sides below them in the table - and the Whites comfortably saw off Barnsley in the second round of the EFL Cup, with Mateusz Klich scoring a brace in that 3-1 win.

Leeds have just one EFL Cup crown to their name from the 1967-68 season, and their run in the 2021-22 tournament came to an end in the fourth round at the hands of Arsenal, but not since the 2013-14 season have the Whites been eliminated in the third round.

As mentioned, Wednesday's game will mark the inaugural meeting between Leeds and Wolves in the EFL Cup, and Marsch's side prevailed in this fixture 2-1 in the opening weekend of the Premier League season - their second successive success over Davis's crop.

Team News

Wolves right-back Semedo will sit this one out through suspension after seeing red in the loss to Brighton, and he is joined on the naughty step by Diego Costa, who is serving the second of a three-game ban.

The hosts remain without a plethora of players through injury, including Raul Jimenez, Sasa Kalajdzic, Pedro Neto and Chiquinho, and it remains to be seen if Matheus Nunes and Tote Gomes will be cleared to participate in the EFL Cup, with the former struggling with a shoulder injury.

Jonny will expect to fill in at right-back as Semedo serves his suspension, while Adama Traore, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Yerson Mosquera could also benefit from some rotation this week.

Meanwhile, Leeds attacker Patrick Bamford sustained a training injury prior to the win over Bournemouth and is not expected back until the weekend - the same can also be said for Archie Gray and Adam Forshaw.

Luis Sinisterra and Stuart Dallas remain sidelined until after the international break, and Marsch will be expected to shuffle his resources, starting with Kristoffer Klaesson potentially replacing Illan Meslier - who started against Barnsley - in goal.

Greenwood should be able to look forward to a start after scoring and assisting off the bench against Bournemouth, and Wilfried Gnonto could join his fellow youngster in the final third.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Jonny, Mosquera, Kilman, Ait-Nouri; B. Traore, Griffiths, Neves; A. Traore, Hwang, Guedes

Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Klaesson; Ayling, Llorente, Cooper, Firpo; Adams, Klich; Summerville, Rodrigo, Gnonto; Greenwood

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Leeds United (Wolves to win on penalties)

Leeds are certainly leaving Wolves behind at the bottom of the Premier League table, but rotation on both ends could open this tie up for an exciting, end-to-end affair, especially with the hosts now improving on the attacking front.

We would not be surprised to see this encounter end all square at Molineux, and with the vociferous home support behind them, Wolves can edge the penalty kicks to advance to the fourth round.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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