LONDON (AP) -- Newcastle, Leeds and Brighton carried their strong Premier League form into the English League Cup on Wednesday.
All three top-flight clubs reached the third round despite fielding lineups filled with fringe players who have barely featured in their teams' unbeaten starts to league play.
Newcastle was pushed the hardest, needing to come from behind to beat fourth-tier Tranmere Rovers 2-1 thanks to goals by Jamaal Lascelles in the 40th minute and Chris Wood in the 52nd off crosses by Kieran Trippier.
Coming off a 3-0 win over Chelsea in the league, Leeds beat third-tier Barnsley 3-1 after Colombia winger Luis Sinisterra scored his first goal for the club. Mateusz Klich scored the other two goals for Leeds, one of them a penalty.
Brighton has already won away against Manchester United and West Ham in the league and found third-tier Forest Green easy to deal with.
Deniz Undav, on his first start for the club since an offseason move from Belgian side Union SG, Steven Alzate and Evan Ferguson were the scorers in a 3-0 victory.
Second-tier team Bristol City was the other team to advance Wednesday.
Fulham was the only Premier League team to be eliminated in the second round. In the third round, the Premier League teams playing in European competitions enter the League Cup.
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