Carabao Cup preview: Value elsewhere as giants set to fall

 

The round of 16 in the Carabao Cup has thrown up since mouthwatering ties, with Liverpool hosting an underpressure Arsenal and Frank Lampard's Chelsea welcoming Manchester United. Wolves and Aston Villa will entertain a Midlands derby, while eyes will also be on Southampton away to Manchester City to see how they react to their humilating 9-0 defeat away to Leicester last time out.

 

It means we are guarenteed to see some big names crash out of the Carabao Cup over the next 48 hours, opening up chances for lesser teams to put together a run to the final at the start of next year. Crawley Town are the lowest ranked team left in the competition, with League Two's 17th-place side hosting Colchester on Tuesday. Colchester have already knocked Crystal Palace and Tottenham out of the cup this season and will have their eyes on a spot in the next round at the expense of their League Two rivals.

 

While it may be tempting to put some money on some of the surprise packages left in the competition, it's worth noting the last six Carabao Cup finals have been all-Premier League affairs. Even with five Premier League sides guarenteed to exit the competition in this round, it's unlikely any of the sides from outside England's top-flight will make the final. That isn't to suggest dismissing any team that isn't Manchester City but not to get carried away with the amount of League One and League Two sides still in the competition.

 

We already know two of Arsenal, Liverpool, United and Chelsea will bow out of the Carabao Cup and that creates a huge opportunity for some of the other Premier League teams to make a serious run for the final. Leicester spring to mind immediately in that respect. The Foxes are third in the Premeir League and fresh from a record-equalling 9-0 win over Southampton. Brendan Rodgers' side travel to League One outfit Burton in midweek and anything other than a comprehensive victory would be a surprise.

 

 

Everton host Watford and Aston Villa welcome Wolves in two other all-Premier League affairs and the winners of both matches will take huge confidence heading into the next round, also reducing the amount of top-flight teams left in the competition in the process. Watford haven't had much to cheer about this season and a cup run is exactly what their supporters need.

 

The Hornets were denied their first ever major trophy in last season's FA Cup final after being thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City, so reaching a showpiece at Wembley is certainly not beyond their capabilities, even if they have started the campaign poorly. Watford are bottom of the Premier League and have already changed manager this season. The Hornets brought Quique Sanchez Flores back to the club in a shock apppointment and things have improved marginally under the Spaniard since being beaten 8-0 by Manchester City last month. 

 

Watford have drawn their last three matches but need to get things going in attack. They desperately need captain Troy Deeney back from injury in that respect, as they have missed his presence on the pitch for the last two months. On Tuesday they travel to Everton where they face former manager Marco Silva. Things soured quite severely between Silva and Watford over the manner of his exit from Vicarage Road in January 2018 and that only adds another level of intrigue to their meeting in midweek.

 

Silva has been a relative disappointment at Goodison Park and could find himself under more pressure if Everton crash out of the Carabao Cup to his former employers. Everton battled to a 1-0 win at home to Watford at the start of the season and can expect a simialrly close contest on Tuesday. Watford have to assess a number of injury concerns ahead of their encounter with Everton but qualifying for the quarter-finals could spark some life into their season.

 

You can read more latest news about Watford and the Carabao Cup on Sportsbet.io

 

Outright Carabao Cup winner odds, provided by Sportsbetio.uk: 

 

Manchester City - 2.60

Liverpool - 5.50

Chelsea - 8.00

Leicester - 9.00

Arsenal - 13.00

Everton - 13.00

Manchester United - 13.00

Wolves - 19.00

Watford - 29.00

Aston Villa - 34.00

Southampton - 41.00

Sunderland - 151.00

Burton - 401.00

Oxford United - 501.00

Colchester - 751.00

Crawley - 751.00

Carabao Cup preview: Value elsewhere as giants set to fall