The English League Cup Third Round
by Constance Rigot |
Background
The EFL Cup (often referred to as simply the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup, hols a total of 92 teams from 4 leagues. The big guns are added in the third round, taking place this week. It is one of the four top-tier domestic football competitions in England. The tournament is played over seven rounds. The semi-final has a two-legged tie, with the final being held in Webley. The winner has a chance to play in the Europa League, if not already qualified for a European competition. Liverpool are the most successful club in the competition, winning the cup 8 times. Manchester United are second, who won last year to Southampton.
Favourites
The favourites are obviously the Red Devils, winners of 2017. They have great odds at 5/1 with Bet365. With such a big squad full of talented players, they have the options to rotate their squad and still be big favourites. Romero, United’s second choice goalkeeper will probably get his chances in the cup, and what a second-choice goalkeeper he is. He helped United win the Europa League last season. They have so much choice up front also, Rashford, Martial, Lukaku, and Ibrahimovic hould be back for the semi-final if they get that far. Premier League champions are next favourites. They are rated at 6/1 with Manchester city at 11/2.
Round 3
Probably the most exciting fixture this week is Leicester taking on Liverpool in the Kind Power Stadium. According to the bookies Liverpool are the big favourites, but don’t write Leicester off as Liverpool will be resting key players. The two teams face each other again next weekend and that will be Liverpool’s priority to win. If Leicester out out a strong team they have a big chance in clinching the win. Leicester are rated at a whopping 4.0 with William Hill. Liverpool have nice odds at 2.30 with 888sport. The favourites face the least favourites, Burton Albion, at Old Trafford and it should be no problem for the Red Devils.
Arsenal face as easy task too at the Emirates. They take on Doncaster. At Stanford bridge, the Blues host Nottingham Forest. Everton host Sunderland in Liverpool while West Brom host Manchester city. Another interesting fixture could be Reading hosting Swansea, with good odds for both teams. Reading have done very well in knockout competitions lately, making the final and semi-final of the FA Cup in recent time. They are rated at 3.60 with 888sport. Swansea have interesting odds of 2.20, worth betting on.
A very interesting feature is the Crystal Palace v Huddersfield match. Palace are double favourites even though they haven’t scored a single goal and lost every match so far in the premier league. Huddersfield, rated at 4.57 with Betathome, have been doing very well so far, one of the best in the premier league so far. Definitely worth betting on them. Another interesting fixture you cannot miss is the Bournemouth vs Brighton game. The two teams have both struggled so far in the premier league. Bournemouth are 19th with only one win. Brighton are three places ahead with 4 points. Bournemouth are the favourites though, due to the fact they are the hosts. Brighton are rated at 4.00, a very nice rating with Bet365. Or you can go for the hosts at 2.00. Not bad at all.
