EFL Cup action continues this week, with fourth-round (round of 16) matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fourth-town Grimsby Town, who knocked out Manchester United on penalties in the second round, are still alive as they host Brentford on Tuesday to kick off the week’s games. Meanwhile, there are still some heavy hitters left in the competition.
Every Premier League team that qualified for the Champions League last season (Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Tottenham) is still alive. Meanwhile, FA Cup and Community Shield winners Crystal Palace are in the mix as well. Ahead of this week’s EFL Cup matches, we’ll take a closer look at each game and share our best bet for each.
We’ll kick things off with:
Grimsby Town vs Brenford – Tuesday, Oct. 28, 3:45pm EDT
Fourth-tier Grimsby Town knocked out Manchester United in the second round of the EFL Cup on penalties. Then, they took down EFL Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in last month’s third round.
However, Grimsby have lost two of their last three games in EFL League Two, including falling 3-2 to Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
Brentford are on a run with three wins in their last four games and will be well aware of the danger Grimsby pose. Take Brentford to be the first team to win and score, at -190 Same Game Parlay odds with BetMGM.
Wycombe vs Fulham – Tuesday, Oct. 28, 3:45pm EDT
Fulham have been a bit unlucky in some of their recent games and have been right in the mix against some of the top teams in the Premier League. They conceded on a set piece to leaders Arsenal a couple of weekends ago and a late goal to Newcastle on Sunday, and lost both.
The Cottagers have much more quality than EFL League One side Wycombe, but the visitors are lacking depth, with a number of players out injured. Emile Smith Rowe scored in Fulham’s last EFL Cup game and only played one half against Newcastle on Saturday.
He should have fresh legs and put a shot on target tonight. Go with both teams to score and Smith Rowe 1+ shot on target at +225 SGP odds.
Wrexham vs Cardiff City – Tuesday, Oct. 28, 4:00pm EDT
It’s a Welsh derby in the EFL Cup as Wrexham host Cardiff City. This is actually the first competitive meeting between the two sides since 2004, as Wrexham just got promoted to the EFL Championship and Cardiff went down to League One.
Each of the last seven Wrexham games has finished with two goals or fewer as they’ve kept three shutouts during that time. This could be a cagey match, and I’d go with under 2.5 goals, at -130 odds.
Swansea City vs Manchester City – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 3:45pm EDT
Manchester City created chances on Sunday against Aston Villa but couldn’t find a breakthrough and lost 1-0. That shouldn’t happen again on Wednesday. Since losing to Wigan in 2018, Man City have won 27 straight games against lower-league opposition.
The Swans have failed to score in two of their last three games. Go with City to win and keep a clean sheet at -105 odds.
Arsenal vs Brighton – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 3:45pm EDT
Brighton’s Diego Gomez has scored five goals in two EFL Cup matches and sits at +500 odds to find the net against a dominant Arsenal defense on Wednesday. Mikel Arteta will likely rotate his squad, which picked up a few knocks over the weekend, heavily.
Don’t expect any of William Saliba, Declan Rice, or Bukayo Saka to start this match. Brighton also managed two draws against the Gunners last season and are capable of giving Arsenal another scare. However, the best bet on the odds board is to take Myles Lewis-Skelly to provide an assist at incredibly attractive +675 odds.
The Arsenal left back should start instead of Riccardo Calafiori on Wednesday, and he provided an assist for Gabriel Martinelli in the Champions League last week.
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 3:45pm EDT
Liverpool’s form has been dreadful over the last month. The Reds have lost four domestic games in a row heading into Wednesday’s EFL Cup clash against Crystal Palace. Palace beat Liverpool in penalties in the FA Community Shield and also beat them in the EPL last month.
However, this is the first meeting of the season at Anfield, and it’s a competition Palace don’t have to prioritize. The Eagles don’t have a deep squad and their form has been tailing off (3L, 1D in last four). Liverpool should manage to get back on track today, and I’d take them to win at -175 odds.
Wolves vs Chelsea – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 3:45pm EDT
Wolves are at the bottom of the Premier League table, and the fans were calling for Vitor Pereira’s head after giving up a late winner to Burnley on Sunday. This is an important game for Wolves to build momentum in, as Chelsea are missing Cole Palmer.
The hosts have already defeated West Ham and Everton in this competition. On Wednesday, I think Wolves will hand Chelsea a surprise exit. Back Wolves to win this one, and Pereira to buy himself a bit more time, at +333 odds.
Newcastle vs Tottenham – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 4:00pm EDT
Tottenham’s early returns under Thomas Frank have been impressive, especially when you consider all of the players out injured. Spurs, who have won five of their first nine Premier League games and sit in third place, have been missing James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, and Yves Bissouma, among others.
Although they managed to defeat Everton 3-0 at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, a trip to St. James’ Park won’t be easy for Tottenham. The Magpies are the defending EFL Cup champions and have progressed past the Fourth Round in each of the last three seasons.
Newcastle are the favorites to win this one, but I like both teams to score (-135) more than any other bet. Tottenham have found the net in 11 of their 13 games this season, in all competitions. It’s also rare Newcastle fail to score at home.
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