League Cup Semi Finals Betting Preview: Tough Night For Chelsea and Burton

Updated: 19/11/2024

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English football’s second piece of silverware of the domestic season will be handed out in late February when the EFL Cup is contested at Wembley. Before then the semi finals take place.

One pits long time London rivals Spurs and Chelsea up against each other where the second tie sees League One Burton attempt the seemingly impossible task of knocking out Man City.

Greg Lea has gone through both matches with a fine tooth comb and given us his best betting tips. We start at Wembley for that London clash.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea

Tuesday, 8 January, 20:00

Aside from an excellent 2–0 victory over Manchester City, Chelsea have not been the same since they were comfortable beaten by Tottenham in November. Mauricio Pochettino’s men ran out 3–1 winners at Wembley on that occasion and the Blues have won just one of their last six away games against the North London outfit.

Spurs are no longer hamstrung by a fear factor when they face their rivals from West London, which is part of the reason why you should back Spurs to win @ 6/5 in Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg.

The other reason, of course, is the contrasting recent form enjoyed by the two sides. Tottenham may have slipped up in their final game of 2018 by going down 3–1 at home to Wolves, but that represents the solitary slip-up in their last eight outings across the Premier League and Champions League. Spurs have also beaten Arsenal 2–0 in the EFL Cup in that time, a display and result that further underlines their belief that they can win the competition this term.

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It has been a different story for Chelsea. Leicester City and Southampton have taken points off Maurizio Sarri’s side in the top flight, while the Blues have also turned in rather unconvincing performances in victories over Bournemouth (EFL Cup) and Crystal Palace (Premier League). Goals have proven hard to come by in the last month and it’s tempting to back Spurs to keep a clean sheet @ 10/11.

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In terms of goalscorers, it is worth looking beyond Harry Kane and putting some money on Dele Alli to find the net. The England midfielder was Spurs’ standout performer in the November triumph over Chelsea, while he has scored six times in his six appearances against the Blues. That’s more goals than he has notched against any other opponent. An Alli anytime goal @ 13/5 in a Tottenham win looks like the best choice here.

Manchester City vs. Burton Albion

Wednesday, 9 January, 19:45

City may have seen their Premier League title tilt stutter in the last few weeks, but they remain formidable opposition and should make light work of League One Burton on Wednesday night.

Last month’s 3–2 defeat by Crystal Palace was only the second time Pep Guardiola’s men have lost a domestic game at the Etihad Stadium since December 2016. It is extremely difficult to envisage Nigel Clough’s side causing an upset when you consider that only two teams in the third tier have an inferior away record this season.

There is no value in backing a City to win @ 1/12 and the goals market is a better starting point.

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Despite their relative struggles of late, City have scored at least two goals in all 12 Premier League home games this term, while they have netted three or more against each of Manchester United, Everton, Bournemouth, Southampton, Burnley, Shakhtar Donetsk and Rotherham since the middle of October. Guardiola has an incredible amount of firepower at his disposal even if he opts to rotate his starting XI and there’s tremendous value in backing Man City to score over 3.5 goals @ 5/4.

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Burton will be determined to give a good account of themselves over the two legs of this semi-final, but Clough is realistic about his team’s chances. Venturing beyond the halfway line on a handful of occasions would probably represent success in an attacking sense on Wednesday evening.

Aside from a wonder strike akin to that scored by Palace’s Andros Townsend in December, it is hard to see City’s goalkeeper on the night being unduly troubled by the visiting Brewers. Back City to keep a clean sheet @ 8/15.

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League Cup Semi Finals Betting Preview: Tough Night For Chelsea and Burton was originally published in blog.betbull.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Original source: https://blog.betbull.com/league-cup-semi-finals-betting-preview-tough-night-for-chelsea-and-burton-718120a1fd81?source=rss—-8f47704ae58f—4

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