The third round draw for the Carling Cup was made on Saturday and to see how it affects your team’s chances of lifting the trophy, click here for the latest odds.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez remains confident of signing Espanyol’s Albert Riera before the transfer deadline closes later today.

The left winger is believed to have travelled to Anfield for a medical before puting pen-to-paper on a move for about £9m.

Benitez said: “The deal for Riera is nearly done. Maybe it is not done yet because it was the weekend, but I have confidence that it will.

“We are still working on the deal and I am confident. It is really close and, in terms of bringing players in, he will be the only one if we can finish the deal.

“It can improve us and give us a bit of balance. It is nearly done,” added Benitez, who also said that he is confident Xabi Alonso will stay at Liverpool.

Riera, 26, spent a spell on loan with Manchester City in 2006 and has also played for Real Mallorca and Bordeaux.

Riera has also been targeted by Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton, but reports suggest that the Spanish international did not want to move to Goodison Park.

“There is a team which is offering what we have asked and another one which isn’t, but the player is interested in the one which is offering the least,” Herrera told Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo. “We will not lower our asking price.”

The third round draw for the Carling Cup was made on Saturday and to see how it affects your team’s chances of lifting the trophy, click here for the latest odds.