EFL Cup

Liverpool will host Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final after last week’s trip to Emirates Stadium was postponed due to a Covid scare. The Reds are now fancied to make the most of that reprieve and secure an advantage to take with them to London next Thursday.

Chelsea already have one foot in the EFL Cup final and head to Tottenham for the second leg of their semi-final with a 2-0 lead. Kai Havertz netted his fifth goal of the campaign before Ben Davies put through his own net, leaving Spurs with a lot to do in the return match.

Liverpool will travel to Preston on a high after Sunday’s big win over Man Utd and should enjoy more success in the EFL Cup. Jurgen Klopp will make changes at Deepdale, though, and North End have a good record on home turf, so this could be a good game to watch.

Arsenal have impressed in the EFL Cup this season and are strongly fancied to see off Leeds in the fourth round at Emirates Stadium. With no European distractions this term, Mikel Arteta is well placed to prioritise success in both domestic knockout competitions.

Liverpool will take a different team to Carrow Road for Tuesday’s EFL Cup clash than when winning here 3-0 in their Premier League opener. However, the Reds are expected to have enough strength in depth to come through this tie against the struggling Canaries.

Man Utd and West Ham face a quick EFL Cup rematch following Sunday’s dramatic Premier League victory for the Red Devils. Both managers are expected to make plenty of changes for this competition and it is hard not to think that will favour Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Arsenal are reeling on the ropes after a poor start in the Premier League and West Brom will be hoping to land a knockout blow in their EFL Cup clash. Mikel Arteta has been hampered by illness problems, plus he will have one eye on Saturday’s early kick-off at Man City.

Barrow will be fired up for their big EFL Cup clash with Aston Villa but Dean Smith does tend to take these kinds of ties seriously. Villa reached the final two seasons ago and breezed through trips to Burton and Bristol City in the early rounds last term.

There is a bit of extra spice associated with Derby’s EFL Cup tie against Salford due to links between former Man Utd teammates. Rams head coach Wayne Rooney will be keen to avoid an upset versus City, who are part-owned by the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Orient will have home advantage and past history on their side when trying to upset QPR in Wednesday’s televised EFL Cup tie. The O’s beat Rangers in this competition back in 2002 and 2007 and are rated a value bet to complete the hat-trick at Breyer Group Stadium.

Manchester City are expected to wrap up a fourth straight EFL Cup triumph when taking on Tottenham at Wembley. Spurs will have interim manager Ryan Mason in charge and the rookie boss may not be ready for the challenge of facing Pep Guardiola, especially with Harry Kane a fitness doubt.

Brentford have beaten four Premier League teams in the EFL Cup but may struggle to get past a determined Tottenham outfit in Tuesday’s semi-final. Spurs have a clear edge in quality and Jose Mourinho always takes this competition seriously, having lifted the trophy with Chelsea and Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho has a great record in the EFL Cup and that makes Tottenham hard to oppose when they visit Stoke in this season’s quarter-finals. The Spurs boss lifted this trophy three times during two stints with Chelsea and again prevailed while in charge of Manchester United.

Brentford have a score to settle with Fulham following August’s play-off final loss and are fancied to win Thursday’s EFL Cup clash. The Bees obliged in both regular-season meetings in the Championship last term and have already knocked two Premier League teams out of this competition.