We are down to the last 16 teams in the EFL Cup, and at this stage of the competition, there are only 3 non-Premier League teams left. The big question is, are we at that point where the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot will field their best players – or will they rely on their B-teams to get the job done.
Among the upcoming ties, we have some high-profile fixtures, and I can definitely see room for a rare upset or shocker at this late stage in the competition. B-teams or not, these midweek games are not to be missed.
EFL Cup Fourth Round Games
There are no more byes into the EFL Cup at this stage, and from now on the teams will play in a knockout tournament straight through to the final. The fourth round and the following round, the quarter finals, are single leg games. The semi finals are two leg games, and will take place in January of next year, before the final in February. The games will take place on October 29 and 30.
Southampton vs Stoke City
October 29, 19:45 @ St. Mary’s Stadium
Brentford vs Sheffield Wednesday
October 29, 0:00 @ Brentford Community Stadium
Brighton vs Liverpool
October 30, 19:30 @ AmEx Community’s Stadium
Man Utd vs Leicester
October 30, 19:45 @ Old Trafford
Preston vs Arsenal
October 30, 19:45 @ Deepdale
Newcastle vs Chelsea
October 3, 19:45 @ St James’ Park
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
October 30, 19:45 @ Villa Park
Tottenham vs Manchester City
October 30, 20:15 @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Preston, Stoke City, and Sheffield Wednesday all play in the English Football Championship, and the rest are all Premier League sides.
Brighton vs Liverpool
Brighton are a dark horse in the Premier League, and cause lots of headaches for big dogs such as Liverpool. They were beaten by Chelsea 4-2, but Brighton beat United at home and held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw. They have a lot of quality in attack, and are not afraid to play on the counter. Asides a slipup against Forest in the EPL, Liverpool have come into this season with a fresh mentality and look confident under new manager Arne Slot. In the last round, they pummeled West Ham 5-1, with Gakpo putting in a world class performance.
The only chink in their armour is Kelleher, who has been called up in Alisson’s absence. Liverpool was left disappointed after a 2-2 draw against Arsenal away, but I think they will have no problems bouncing back here. The odds are not too short on Liverpool and will work just fine in our parlay.
Liverpool Moneyline @ 21/20
Man Utd vs Leicester
This is a much closer call, as United has been performing well under par. The Red Devils are plagued by a lot of injuries, but Ten Hag is running out of excuses. If he wants to get any silverware this year, then his best bet is probably the EFL Cup. Leicester is no pushover, so United will need to be extra careful at the back not to allow the likes of Jamie Vardy, Facundo Bounanotte, or Jordan Ayew break their lines.
The oddsmakers favour United at home, though the odds are fairly priced at 1/3. I think they can probably eke out a win here against Leicester.
Man Utd Moneyline @ 1/3
Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
Confidence is running high in the Palace camp after their 1-0 victory at home against Spurs. To be fair, Crystal Palace don’t make it easy for their opponents, and the majority of their losses have only come by a margin of 1 goal. They even held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw away and played out a goalless draw against United. Villa will no doubt start Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran in this tie, and will push to get that all important early goal. They are easily the favourites to win here, but the odds are quite generous on Villa at home.
Aston Villa Moneyline @ 9/10
Newcastle vs Chelsea
A rematch of the weekend Premier League game, but this time Newcastle hosts Chelsea. The Blues won at home but Newcastle gave them a good match. I can imagine Enzo Maresca mixing things up a bit for the EFL Cup, and opting for his B-team, which features the likes of Joao Felix, Mykhalo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Fernandes. Newcastle will no doubt have learnt a thing or two following their narrow defeat at Stamford Bridge, and this time around, the two teams may be more evenly matched.
This is a hard call, but after looking at Newcastle’s home record in the Premier League, I decided to opt for Chelsea. Apart from a 2-1 at home against Spurs, I just haven’t seen Newcastle really use home advantage to dominate their games, and I think Chelsea’s B-side players will relish the opportunity to play against a good Premier League team.
Chelsea Moneyline @ 7/4
Preston North End vs Arsenal
The odds on Arsenal to win are short, but this should be a straightforward win for the Gunners. Preston just narrowly beat Fulham in a tantalising penalty shootout, and now find themselves facing a Premier League powerhouse. Mikel Arteta has mixed up his squad plenty for these EFL games, but now Arsenal’s injury woes will make this game a real dilemna for the manager. Jurrien Timber and Gabrial Magalhaes were subbed off against Liverpool, with apparent injuries, and add in Tierney, Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard, and Arteta’s squad looks very light.
Nevertheless, Arsenal still have good options such as Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri who would jump at the opportunity to get some playing time. I’m predicting the Arsenal b-team to give us a spectacular show of football.
Arsenal Moneyline @ 2/9
Tottenham vs Man City
Saving best for last, Tottenham will host Manchester City. Though City are getting the results they want, they are not playing with the same conviction as this time last year. It feels like the team is a bit fatigued, or maybe lacking a little of the pizazz that they so easily summoned last year. Pep will definitely want to save his best players, and he has even said that he will only field his B team in the EFL Cup. But just considering that means starting the likes of Rico Lewis, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Ilkay Gundogan and Savinho, they are still a force to be reckoned with.
Spurs, on the other hand, are a little patch in their performances. They have won some big games, but lost to Palace, Arsenal, and Brighton. They will be looking to bounce back from the weekend’s 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace, but Ange Postecoglou will have to pull out something special if Spurs has a chance of beating City.
The odds are very well priced on this game. City are the favourites to win, but not by a big margin. Playing at Spurs, I think Spurs may just be able to snap up a win against City, but its definitely a risky shout.
Tottenham Moneyline @ 2/1
BettingTools EFL Cup R4 Bet Builder Predictions
Instead of going hard on one big acca, I have decided to make two. One is my safer bet, which I’m hoping should hit home and cover any potential losses on my second acca.
The latter has the more difficult picks, but if Villa, Chelsea and Spurs pull through, I’m going to score a massive payout. You can check the odds below. Of course, you can also try mixing up the picks a little and adjust the risk to reward ratio to your liking. Feel free to use our accumulator odds calculator to assemble your acca, and work out which combination of picks works best for you.
