Chelsea’s Carabao Cup exit against Liverpool brought plenty of talking points, but one of the most notable came from a player who never stepped onto the pitch. Estêvão was named among the substitutes, yet his only involvement was a short warm-up, enough for a section of supporters to make their feelings known as concern over his place in the squad continues to build.

With January approaching, the questions around Estêvão are becoming harder to ignore. The Brazilian arrived with a big reputation, having made his Palmeiras debut at 16 and quickly earned a label that is often overused but, in his case, felt justified. He has long been viewed as one of the game’s most exciting prospects.

His natural position has always been on the right wing, whether at Palmeiras or during his time under former Chelsea bosses Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior. The issue this season is that the current structure does not favour that profile. Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 relies on wing-backs for width and two inside forwards behind the striker, leaving little room for a traditional winger to operate.

Pedro Neto has filled the right-sided role because of his work rate, while Estêvão himself has said he sees his future as a central attacking midfielder. Yet those two advanced midfield roles are occupied by the club’s key figures, which has left little opening for him. Even with Palmer suspended, the route into the starting line-up disappeared once Alonso moved away from a shape that used an attacking midfielder.

The result is a frustratingly thin return. Estêvão has managed only 172 minutes in all competitions so far, the same total he recorded for Brazil during the September-October international window.

The lack of game time has sparked obvious speculation, though there is no clear sign of a falling-out. After the Liverpool defeat, Alonso said: “He could be happier,” Alonso confessed after the Liverpool defeat. “He wants to play. I’m sure Estê will have his moment, it is my responsibility. We know the game in England is really intense, and you need to be up for it. Estê is in his second season. The season is going to be long.”

There are also clear concerns over his physical side, with Alonso seemingly placing more value on strength and intensity. For Chelsea, the problem is straightforward: a 19-year-old talent needs minutes to keep developing, but that opportunity is not arriving. Paris Saint-Germain have been linked, while any move would require Chelsea’s approval, as his contract runs until 2033.

Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes have reportedly put their differences aside after discussions aimed at clearing the air following Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

The fallout from that result had been severe. Fernandes had already gone public with a striking criticism of the club’s tactical approach after a damaging night in northern Italy, while Lisandro Martínez had earlier taken aim at director of football Jason Wilcox. With United in a difficult moment, Sunday’s loss to Bournemouth had looked likely to bring Carrick’s spell to an end.

Instead, the club have opted to keep him in place for the Premier League meeting with Chelsea this Saturday.

According to The Guardian, that decision has been followed by a reconciliation between Carrick and Fernandes after talks at the club’s training ground on Tuesday. The Portugal international is said to have given “assurances that he is fully committed and intent on trying to turn the team’s season around,” before a full squad meeting in which his teammates “made the same vow.”

That should give the impression of a clean slate, but United’s problems are far from settled. Fernandes is expected to start against Chelsea as he attempts to end a poor spell of form. So far this season, he has managed only four goals and one assist, all of them arriving in home matches against Ipswich Town and Sabah FK.

United’s wider picture remains bleak. They sit 16th in the Premier League and 21st in the Champions League, and they have already gone out of the Carabao Cup after a shock collapse against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Pressure is increasing, and the boos after the Bournemouth defeat were aimed at the players rather than Carrick. Another setback against Chelsea could put the current regime in real danger.

Carrick will hope the latest round of soul-searching leads to a stronger response, and there is at least some indication that part of the dressing room remains aligned with him. “The feeling is that we all want to put it right. Players, staff, everyone,” one unnamed United player recently told BBC Sport.

With the 2026-27 season still in its early stages, Liverpool and Chelsea will already be looking at the Carabao Cup as a realistic route to silverware. The competition has taken on added importance after Arsenal’s surprise defeat to League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday removed one major rival from the picture.

That result has sharpened the focus on Wednesday’s fourth-round tie at Anfield, where Liverpool and Chelsea will meet knowing one of them is guaranteed to leave the competition. With the rest of the round not yet completed, the winner will move a step closer to a trophy that now looks more open than it did at the start of the campaign.

The wider history of the competition underlines that point. Aside from Newcastle United’s triumph in 2025, the Carabao Cup has been won by one of England’s “Big Six” every year since 2013. Since Leicester City’s success in 2000, only five other winners have come from outside Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

This season, however, several of those familiar contenders have already fallen away. Man Utd and Tottenham exited in the third round, while Arsenal are now out as well. Another heavyweight will go on Wednesday when Liverpool host Chelsea, and the quarterfinals will then feature no more than two of the Big Six.

Manchester City remain involved too, and their own fourth-round meeting with third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion will remove another leading threat. Even so, the shape of the draw has left both Liverpool and Chelsea with a genuine opportunity.

Of Liverpool’s four possible trophies this season, the Carabao Cup is the least glamorous alongside the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Yet the chance to win it is real, and Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola appears to understand that his best opportunity for silverware in his first season at Anfield may have already arrived.