We’re down to the last eight of the 2023–24 EFL Cup, and the quarterfinal hopefuls are set to do battle this week in search of the first serious piece of silverware.
The EFL Cup 2023 betting odds make Liverpool the favourites at a price of 2.26, with Chelsea and Newcastle United in pursuit at 4.00 and 4.50, respectively, and the Reds will complete the round when they take on West Ham United on Wednesday.
There are three all Premier League ties and a Championship versus League One match, so let’s take a closer look and try to pick the semi-finalists.
Liverpool vs West Ham United
Liverpool have a Sunday date with Manchester United before they can start to think about the Hammers, but they have gathered momentum in recent weeks, reaching the top of the Premier League and Jurgen Klopp has used his squad players, particularly in the Europa League.
David Moyes’ West Ham have progressed as group winners in the Europa League too, and they face Wolves at home on Sunday in a match they will expect to win. But West Ham have been inconsistent at times, winning well away to Tottenham Hotspur and then taking a 5-0 walloping at the hands of Fulham.
Klopp’s men are hot favourites to win this one and are at SBOTOP odds of 1.94 with a -1.50 handicap.
Chelsea vs Newcastle United
The toughest tie to call, the way I see it, is the clash between two top-flight heavyweights at Stamford Bridge. Both teams earned a much-needed win on Saturday; Chelsea eased past bottom club Sheffield United 2-0 to recover from back-to-back losses.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United ended a three-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Fulham, albeit aided by the sending off of Cottagers striker Raul Jimenez. The recently returned Dan Burn was on target for the Magpies, and he is also a key figure in a defence that manager Eddie Howe is trying to tighten up.
Cole Palmer is emerging as a crucial part of Mauricio Pochettino’s project to return the Blues to the elite, while another summer recruit, Nicolas Jackson, scored his seventh goal of the campaign in the win over Sheffield United, and his face-off against Magpies hitman Callum Wilson will be well worth watching.
I’m backing the draw at odds of 3.59
Port Vale vs Middlesbrough
In the most intriguing tie of the round, Michael Carrick takes Championship promotion chasers Middlesbrough to League One Port Vale. The lowest-ranked team left in the competition is managed by Andy Crosby, a former defender at Brighton and Hove Albion, and his team has a tough task ahead to keep out Carrick’s talented Boro side.
South African midfielder Ethan Chislett is an exciting player, and he scored a hat-trick as Port Vale beat Wigan 3-2 on Saturday, but they let the Wiganers come back from a 2-0 deficit before Chislett bagged the 83rd-minute winner.
Middlesbrough won 2-1 away to Swansea, with goals from Leeds United loanee Sam Greenwood and Aussie forward Samuel Silvera. That win ended a run of three consecutive defeats for Boro, which left them five points behind the play-off places.
But they made a slow start last term and finished fourth, so I suspect Carrick’s team will be in the mix again this season. Port Vale are looking to consolidate this term and are currently 15th in League One, and this cup run is a handy money spinner for the club.
Middlesbrough should be too strong for the League 1 side at odds of 1.90 to win.
Everton vs Fulham
The fourth fixture is another all Premier League clash, between Sean Dyche’s resurgent Everton and Marco Silva’s hot and cold Cottagers. It will be a clash of styles as the Toffees will stick to their policy of pragmatism, big, strong players who make mayhem at set pieces, against fast flowing Fulham who will dominate possession and try to break down Everton’s two banks of four.
Even before the Toffees started to pick up points in the league their EFL Cup 2023 results were pretty impressive, beating Burnley 3-0 and Aston Villa 2-1. They come into this game on the back of four consecutive wins, totally wiping out the ten point deduction they copped for financial irregularities, and are now up to 16th place in the Premier League table, five points behind 11th placed Fulham.
The Cottagers lost to Newcastle at the weekend but they had back-to-back 5-0 wins before that and they will be a handful for the stout Everton defence. Dyche’s battlers are a decent bet at 2.02 to win this game, but then Fulham at 2.89 have every chance given their serious goal threat.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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