The majority of the big guns in the EFL Cup Round of 16 are in action on Wednesday night when four of the five ties are all Premier League affairs.
There are three matches taking place on Tuesday, Grimsby v Brentford, Wycombe v Fulham and Wrexham v Cardiff but we will swerve those games and focus on Wednesday’s match ups.
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
Arsenal v Brighton
Arsenal joined the competition in the previous round where they won 2-0 away to Port Vale with Eze and Trossard on target.
The Gunners have quickly opened up a 4 point lead at the top of the EPL standings and are also 3 wins from 3 in the UCL. They have won 9 and drawn 1 of their last 10 across all competitions, conceding just 2 goals in the process.
Brighton have been banging the goals in. They have reeled off to 6-0 victories away to Oxford and then Barnsley. Diego Gomez scored 1 in the first of those games and then 4 in the second.
Brighton lost 4-2 away to Man United at the weekend and are just below half way in the standings with a record of 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats.
Arsenal are sure to make changes but the depth in their squad has to be respected. With no European football this season this competition is a chance for Brighton to really have a go. They have a few injuries of their own but I’m going to take my chances with over 2.5 goals and btts yes
Bet: Over 2.5 total goals and both teams to score? Yes at 21/20 with Betway
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Liverpool v Crystal Palace
Liverpool lost the final of this competition to Newcastle last season and they were 2-1 winners at home to Southampton in their only EFL Cup tie so far, Isak and Ekitike were the scorers.
Palace have already beaten Liverpool this season, 2-1 in a home fixture just over a month ago. That was the first of 4 successive EPL defeats for Liverpool who slipped from 1st to 7th and are now all of 7 points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Palace needed spot kicks to get past Millwall in the previous round after the game at Selhurst Park finished all square at 1-1. They are in mid table in the EPL, they lost 1-0 at Arsenal on Sunday and they have only taken 1 point from their last 3 league games.
Another tough one in the circumstances as Palace don’t always rotate to a large degree and Liverpool badly need a boost. Another chance is given to Florian Wirtz to find the net.
Bet: Anytime Goalscorer Wirtz at 2.75/1 with Betway
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Swansea v Man City
Swansea have made the most of home advantage in each of the 3 rounds so far. They were 3-1 winners at home to Crawley and then came out on top 2-1 against Plymouth. They then took a Premier League scalp in the shape of Nottingham Forest, scoring 2 injury time goals in a 3-2 win.
City’s only FA Cup action so far saw Foden and Savinho score in a 2-0 win at Huddersfield. City had been in good form domestically and in Europe but a 1-0 defeat away to Villa on Sunday saw them slip to fifth place, 6 points behind Arsenal in the title race.
Swansea have gone off the boil a bit in the Championship but will be right up for this and Haaland is a doubt for City. I’ll go with btts yes.
Bet: Both teams to score? Yes at even money with SuperSportBet
Wolves v Chelsea
Wolves are rock bottom of the EPL with just 2 points from 9 matches but they have beaten top flight opposition to reach the Round of 16 of this competition, a 3-2 home win against West Ham followed by a 2-0 victory in another home game against Everton.
Chelsea had to dig pretty deep to come from 1-0 down to win 2-1 at Lincoln in the previous round. After a decent run of results they came unstuck at home to Sunderland in the EPL on Saturday, losing 2-1 and sliding down to ninth position in the standings.
Estavio was benched on Saturday so I’m guessing he will start here and will take his price boost to provide an assist.
Bet: Estavio assists 1 or more, was 28/10 now 36/10 with Sportingbet
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Newcastle v Spurs
Holders Newcastle breezed past Bradford with a 4-1 home win in their first action of the competition with Joelinton and Osula both scoring twice. Newcastle have won 2 of their 3 Champions League matches so far and a 2-1 home win over Fulham in the EPL at the weekend moved them up to 12 points.
Spurs have also played just the 1 EFL Cup tie which delivered a comfortable 3-0 home win over Doncaster. Spurs are unbeaten in Europe with 1 win and 2 draws and they finished the most recent round of EPL matches in third spot in the standings. A 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday sees them unbeaten away from home in the league with 4 wins and 1 draw.
Being the proud holders of this trophy Newcastle might feel obliged to field a stronger side than might normally have been the case. The Spurs line up will also make interesting reading, they have been great away from home and the percentage call here could be the draw.
Bet: Match Result Draw at 3/1 with Sportingbet
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change