EFL Cup Predictions > Dec 21st & 22nd

[DarrenTse]

Arsenal vs Sunderland A.F.C

Kick Off: 12/21/2021 15:45

 

Arsenal

After a series of losses in December, the rejuvenated Arsenal entered an excellent state in the next two weeks - winning three Premier League games with a total score of 9-1. Last Wednesday's London derby victory over West Ham United put the Gunners in the top four of the League for the first time since October 2020. The team hope this momentum will help them win the EFL title for the first time since 1993.

Sunderland A.F.C

Although Sunderland avoided the opponents from the top league before this stage, it was very difficult for them to enter the top eight - they defeated Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in the last round by penalty shootout to maintain the hope. Sunderland's efforts in the secondary League this season have been relatively smooth for currently ranking third in the League after the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Prediction

Although Sunderland will make a strong resistance and are likely to score for themselves, the weight of Mikel Arteta's available offensive talent should ensure that the Gunners reach the semi-finals.

 

1X2 Pick: 1

[StevieDay1983]

Here are the odds for the EFL Cup Quarter-Finals coming up this week. One game on Tuesday and three matches on Wednesday. No word of any of these games being postponed for the time being but this could change with every passing day. Let's hear your predictions for these matches in case they all do go ahead as planned! 

[StevieDay1983]

Arsenal vs Sunderland

The first game in the EFL Cup Quarter-Finals is the 7:45pm GMT kick-off on Tuesday night when Premier League Arsenal look to continue their encouraging season with a home tie against League One promotion hopefuls and in-form Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium. This one is already written as a home win if you believe the pundits but we've seen upsets like this happen before.

Arsenal are continuing to show signs of progress under Mikel Arteta even if they have random stumbling blocks. The Gunners are in the top four after three league wins in a row and their progress in this competition has been relatively straight forward. Wins over West Brom, AFC Wimbledon, and Leeds have produced little trouble with clean sheets achieved by the Arsenal back-line in each of those games. Arteta has already proven his cup-winning pedigree by guiding the club to an FA Cup win earlier in his reign. The Spaniard may have to deal with three absentees in Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Pablo Mari through injury and covid.

Sunderland have arguably been in the third tier of English football for far longer than they would have liked. The Black Cats are now under the management of Lee Johnson and he has guided the team to 3rd in the league table thanks to an unbeaten run in the league of 7 matches. It's been a superb run in this competition for the club with them navigating their way past the likes of Port Vale, Blackpool, Wigan, and QPR. This will be their first real test so it'll be interesting to see how Johnson's men approach the challenge. It has been confirmed that an unnamed player has tested positive for covid so will be unavailable and the team is also sweating on the fitness of on-loan striker Leon Dajaku.

I have to say that if this was a reverse fixture then there's every chance we could see an upset. It has happened so often down the years in this competition. Unfortunately, not only are Arsenal showing positive movements under Arteta but their home form is brilliant this season too. I can foresee another business-like display from the Gunners who should be looking to win this with a clean sheet again.

Arsenal HT/FT @ 1.80 with Coral

Arsenal -1 @ 1.70 with Novibet

[StevieDay1983]

Brentford vs Chelsea

It's an all-London affair for the second EFL Cup Quarter-Final that I'm previewing this week. It's Brentford versus Chelsea in a 7:45pm GMT kick-off at the Brentford Community Stadium. Can the home team spring a shock win on a visiting side that are not only suffering from a spell of inconsistent form recently but have also been quite open about their struggles with covid.

Brentford are currently in the clear over covid after their last two league games were postponed due to infections. The Bees are in 12th place in the league and have only lost 1 of their last 5 league matches as form improves heading into the festive period. Thomas Frank will be without Kristoffer Ajer, Mathias Jorgensen, Tarique Fosu-Henry, and Josh Dasilva but has most of his big guns back to pick from. The team has made relatively light work of reaching this stage of the competition so far having beaten Forest Green Rovers, Oldham, and Stoke to get to this stage. This will be their first real test in the competition though.

Chelsea are plagued by covid infections with head coach Thomas Tuchel making his feelings known about his team having to play matches with a severely weakened squad. The Blues are in 3rd place in the Premier League but now 6 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City having previously been sitting top of the table just a matter of weeks ago. The London club have won just 1 of their last 5 league games. Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, Trevoh Chalobah, Andreas Christensen, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, and Kai Havertz are all ruled out or doubtful to start.

Well, if ever there was a time for Brentford to play Chelsea it's now. You look at the visiting team's squad and it's absolutely obliterated by injuries and illness. They are just about able to fulfil this fixture with first team players. These two sides have only ever met 15 times in all competitions with Brentford winning just 4 of those encounters. They haven't beaten Chelsea in the last 7 meetings, losing 6 of those, and haven't won in this fixture since a 3-1 victory away back on 25th February, 1939... before the Second World War had even started! I'm still not sure Brentford will win but I'm backing them to progress.

Brentford to Qualify @ 3.00 with 888Sport

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.80 with Boylesports

[StevieDay1983]

Liverpool vs Leicester

The third clash in the EFL Cup Quarter-Finals that is getting the preview treatment is the 7:45pm GMT kick-off on Wednesday night between Liverpool and Leicester at Anfield. Both teams are missing some big names ahead of this game and it'll be interesting to not only see what line-ups the respective managers choose but how the sides will adapt to having so many key players absent.

Liverpool are looking a lot more like the team that romped to the 2019/20 Premier League title but Jurgen Klopp is having to navigate his way through a rough period with players including Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho, and Curtis Jones missing through covid with the duo of Divock Origi and Andrew Robertson missing this tie due to injury and suspension respectively. The Reds are still 2nd in the table and just 3 points behind league leaders Manchester City after going 7 league games unbeaten. The team have yet to be really challenged in this competition so far having beaten Norwich away 3-0 in the 3rd Round and Preston away by a 2-0 result in the 4th Round.

Leicester find themselves in an even more desperate situation than their opponents for this game. As if the inconsistent form of Brendan Rodgers' side wasn't bad enough with the club in 9th place after just 2 wins from their last 7 league games but they could be without any centre backs for this game. Amongst the absent players through injuries and illness are Caglar Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana, Jannik Vestergaard, James Justin, Ademola Lookman, Ayoze Perez, Hamza Choudhury, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Filip Benkovic. Victories over Millwall and Brighton in the previous rounds have been far from convincing but they are still here in the last 8.

It's hard to see how Leicester are going to trouble Liverpool here unless the home side field a very inexperienced team. Even then, you look at the visitors and see that they're going to need the likes of Youri Tielemans, James Maddison, and Jamie Vardy to really step up and deliver. I just think the price being offered on a home win is worth taking even if Klopp decides to rest a number of players.

Liverpool to Win @ 1.87 with Mansion Bet

BTTS @ 1.58 with SBK

[StevieDay1983]

Tottenham vs West Ham

It's an all-London match-up for this fourth and final preview of the EFL Cup Quarter-Finals with Tottenham hosting West Ham in a 7:45pm GMT kick-off on Wednesday night from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. These two teams are closely matched in the league table but the form books are starting to differ slightly with the home team on the way up and the away side faltering recently.

Tottenham are growing increasingly more resilient under head coach Antonio Conte with the team unbeaten in 5 domestic fixtures since the Italian took charge with the club moving up to 7th in the table. Spurs have had their schedule severely disrupted recently with three matches postponed due to covid infections. However, Conte now has nearly a fully fit and ready squad at his disposal with Cristian Romero the only confirmed absentee for this game. The team have sneaked their way through the rounds so far with a tense win on penalties against Wolves followed up by a narrow 1-0 win away to Burnley.

West Ham still look like a team that can cause problems for their opponents with the East Londoners sitting in 5th position despite having won just 1 of their last 6 league matches. David Moyes has seen his team suffer from the absentees of Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma as well as Aaron Cresswell, Ben Johnson, and Ryan Fredericks. Fortunately, the Hammers still have their big weapons in attack available. If they're to get anything from this game then they need the likes of Declan Rice, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Tomas Soucek, and Michail Antonio to be on form. The team have already eliminated Manchester United and Manchester City without conceding a single goal in normal time so they have form.

I'm fascinated to see how this game plays out. It's a shame that West Ham are still obliterated by injuries at the back because I'd fancy this to be a cracking game if both sides were at full strength. It genuinely feels like Conte is making firm progress with this Tottenham side and could Harry Kane's goal on the weekend be the one he needs to start firing on all cylinders again? I think the home win has to be backed here.

Tottenham to Win @ 2.16 with SBK

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.95 with SBK