Sixteen teams remain in the Carabao Cup and we're intrigued to see who gets the upper hand out of Liverpool and Chelsea. The EFL Cup betting sites make the Blues slight favourites to win, with Xabi Alonso expected to field a strong team. This is especially considering that there's no European involvement for the London side this term.
However, Andoni Iraola will want his Reds team to be competitive and we should expect a stern challenge from the team that is fielded. Although Liverpool will be youthful, there might still be a lively showing from the home team. We're expecting goals to be scored and perhaps that could be the best betting angle to take.
Liverpool v Chelsea Betting Markets
Liverpool aren't usually as big as 2.75 to claim a victory at home, although the Carabao Cup bookmakers make the Reds the outsiders to overcome Chelsea on Wednesday night. There's a 37% chance that Andoni Iraola's side will achieve a win to put them in the quarter final stage of a competition where they've previously been successful in recent times.
At the time of writing, the Reds have failed to claim an Anfield win in the Premier League, being held to draws by Nottingham Forest and Fulham. They were turned over at home to Manchester City somewhat unfortunately, although Liverpool have beaten Atletico Madrid and Villarreal in exciting Champions League encounters.
Much will depend on team news and it would come as no surprise if key players such as Alexander Isak and Alexis Mac Allister were given the night off. We don't expect Chelsea to be much weaker than their normal starting XI and that could mean we see Joao Pedro being flanked by Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers.
Xabi Alonso is sure to receive a warm welcome on his return to Anfield considering how well he performed for Liverpool over several years, including winning the Champions League with the Merseyside club. He's now aiming for managerial success with Chelsea and they are currently available at 2.30 to claim a victory. This might end up being a value pick if it's their first team against the reserves of the home club.
We recommend waiting for the teams to be announced as this will have a direct bearing on the match odds. There could be goals from both sides and the draw is certainly worthy of consideration. If this outcome happens, then we'll go straight to penalties and perhaps the outcome will be decided on spot kicks.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals looks fairly likely to happen. In the previous round of the Carabao Cup, Chelsea landed a 6-3 victory over Leeds United. There have also been several high-scoring encounters in the Premier League. The Blues opened the campaign with a 3-2 success at Fulham and that was followed by a 4-3 win against Brighton.
Indeed, the only Chelsea game in the Premier League which hasn't gone over the 2.5 goal line is the recent 2-0 victory at Everton where the team tightened up defensively. However, we should expect a more gung ho match considering that it's winner takes all on the night.
Liverpool will aim to get on the front foot and they've been involved in some high-scoring affairs recently. There was a 6-3 win at LASK in the Champions League before a 4-3 success over Villarreal. We might expect Over 3.5 Goals.
BTTS
BTTS Yes should happen according to the latest Carabao Cup betting odds. This is trading at 1.44, giving an implied probability of 70% that we see both sides find the net. Liverpool did draw a blank against Fulham in the Premier League although their goal tally in the past three games have been 6-2-4.
We know that Andoni Iraola may field reserve players although it was also notable that Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak were on the bench against Villarreal and they may well be fielded in this clash. It's a match where Liverpool will want to progress in considering that all silverware is valuable for the club.
Chelsea's goal threat is patently obvious. Only Brentford have successfully nullified the Blues this season, with Xabi Alonso's side putting six past Leeds in the previous round and they have the players to do maximum damage in this one. We're leaning towards BTTS Yes and a Chelsea win combined here, with that outcome trading at a backable price and you could consider a bet builder with these picks and additional options.
First Goalscorer
Joao Pedro is having a brilliant season in front of goal, with the Brazilian having scored five times already this season and he is likely to continue at the top of the formation. There was a recent brace against Bournemouth, although it was Pedro Neto who came to the fore against Everton when the wing-back was able to score twice.
Cole Palmer will be on spot kick duties although the England midfielder has been struggling to make an impact in front of goal this season. Morgan Rogers has been a more effective goal-getter, with the former Aston Villa man having four on the board and posing a constant threat as he ghosts into scoring positions.
Perhaps Iraola will field the dangerous Alexander Isak considering the nature of the opposition where it might be a case of outscoring them. The Swede has five goals in the Premier League this term and he has notched in consecutive matches against Brentford and Bournemouth.
Alexis Mac Allister scored twice against Villarreal and perhaps Florian Wirtz's goal against the Spanish side can light the blue touch paper. Bradley Barcola bagged a hat-trick against LASK and the Frenchman has the ability to score goals against a Chelsea defence who have creaked on several occasions this term.
