The Carabao Cup round of 16 stage has produced a few curveballs over the years, with a handful of lower league teams still in contention.
With games taking place across three days this week, Wednesday’s fixtures include West Ham v Spurs, Chelsea v Derby County and Arsenal v Blackpool, and our betting expert is here to take you through some of the best bets from these ties.
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs narrowly took the spoils with a 1-0 win when they met West Ham just two weekends ago and their trip back to the London Stadium for this Carabao Cup round of 16 tie could be yet another close affair, with the same scoreline a 6/4 shot with Grosvenorsport.com.
Tottenham are 13 points ahead of the Hammers in the Premier League table but suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City last time out which could well have knocked their confidence ahead of this London grudge match.
However, a weakened side is expected to be fielded by Mauricio Pochettino but Lucas Moura has been on fine form for the north London side this season and is a very attractive 17/2 to clinch the opener and the same price to score the last goal of the game.
Chelsea v Derby County
Chelsea welcome Championship outfit Derby in the televised fixture after putting four past Burnley on Sunday. Another win-to-nil here is going for evens and, in a match where youngsters and fringe players will be keen to impress boss Maurizio Sarri, a whitewash could be on the cards.
Frank Lampard returns to the Bridge as Derby’s manager, knowing that his side are fully capable of a giant killing after knocking out Manchester United in the previous round of the competition.
It’s also a return to West London for highly-rated Blues loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, but ultimately, their parent club has too much talent in abundance to exit at this stage of the competition, and I think a 3-0 result is a decent punt, with Grosvenorsport.com going 13/2.
Arsenal v Blackpool
Blackpool travel to meet an Arsenal side who had won 11 straight games in all competitions before Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace while the Seasiders’ decent backline will not have been tested against the likes of the hosts’ firepower.
The Gunners beat Brentford 3-1 in the third round of the competition where Danny Welbeck scored a brace before Alexandre Lacazette added the third. The Frenchman is 5/2 to open the scoring and his blistering form is evident from the 10 league goals produced when combining with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
This will be Blackpool’s fourth match of the competition after overcoming Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, and Championship side Queens Park Rangers. However, Arsenal are set to win in regular time but I don’t expect a thrashing, with value to be found in the 5/2 for under 2.5 total goals.
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