The football action this midweek in England comes from the Capital One Cup as the remaining eight sides – five from the Premier League and three from the Championship – clash looking to secure their places in the two legged semi finals and be one step closer to Wembley where they will compete for Chelsea’s title. The holders are out after falling to Stoke City on penalties in the last round, but can Mark Hughes’ side move one step closer to their first League Cup Final since their 2-1 defeat of Chelsea in 1972?
We preview all four matches and provide our best bets with online sportsbook Bet365.com.
Stoke v Sheffield Wednesday: 1.83 – 3.75 – 4.75
This last eight stage game between these EPL and Championship sides sees them meet for the first time since the end of the 2007/08 season when Stoke were promoted to the top flight. That season saw a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough after Wednesday had secured a thumping 4-2 win at The Britannia, and after beating Premier League sides Newcastle and Arsenal without conceding a goal in the last two rounds of this competition they will be confident of progressing to the semi final stage.
While the second tier side have been excelling on their path to this Quarter Final stage clash the Premier League side, who saw captain Ryan Shawcross red-carded at the weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Sunderland, have not found things so easy going. They needed penalties to see off League Two side Luton Town before edging Championship team Fulham 1-0. They impressed against Chelsea in the last round before goalkeeper Jack Butland saved Edin Hazard’s penalty to become the hero of the night and see them progress against the defending champions.
They will be desperate to bounce back after their weekend defeat and having lost just one match in five in all competitions while Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of their last four away games since the end of September so we feel that the home team are the deserved favourites to progress to the semi finals. However, as the Championship side have upset the odds in their last two cup games they’re sure to arrive at The Britannia Stadium with all guns blazing and we’re backing goals from both of these two sides.
Our top Stoke v Sheffield Wednesday tip is back Stoke to win and both sides to score @ 4.00 with Bet365.com.
Middlesbrough v Everton: 3.00 – 3.40 – 2.50
The second top tier versus second tier clash in this last eight stage of the Capital One Cup sees a meeting of two teams in excellent form as the hosts of this Middlesbrough versus Everton clash sit second in the Championship table and Everton are ninth in the EPL, just four points away from a European qualification place. Both of these sides will feel that they can progress to the semi finals of the competition and the Bet365 match odds suggest that this will be a close game, but who’ll edge ahead at the full time whistle?
Both sides have had similar experiences so far with needing extra time in their first match before winning in normal time and they both secured their quarter final place with penalties in the last round. The biggest win for ‘Boro was their defeat of Manchester United last time around and with them having suffered just a single defeat in their last seven in all competitions they will fancy their chances. They have won seven and drawn one of their last eight on home soil and have conceded just one goal in this time, and with Everton having failed to win any of their last three away games whilst failing to keep a clean sheet in five on the road we are backing this to be an upset.
We are backing Middlesbrough to win on the Draw No Bet market at odds of 2.00 in the Bet365 Sportsbook!
Man City v Hull: 1.25 – 6.50 – 15.00
The competition front runners (1.90 to win the 2015 Capital One Cup with Bet365) welcome Championship front runners Hull City to the Etihad Stadium as the overwhelming favourites to move into the final four of the cup having overcome a difficult month. Their 3-1 win over Southampton at the weekend saw them end a run of three games without victory as they drew 0-0 with Aston Villa before losing to Liverpool and Juventus in the Premier and Champions Leagues, but it has not all been good news. Sergio Aguero limped out of the victory over The Saints after just over an hour on the field and will certainly not play this midweek.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini is sure to make some changes as they have another six matches in all competitions to go before the end of 2015, but with Hull just three points off the top of the Championship table and playing well in general, although they are without a win in two coming into this game, they will believe that they can upset the odds against a rested Man City team. They have seen off EPL sides Swansea and Leicester in this competition already so we expect them to be closer than the odds suggest, especially as City have not kept a clean sheet in this competition so far. As a result of this we are backing goals in this clash.
Back both sides to score – Yes in this Man City v Hull game @ 2.10.
Southampton v Liverpool: 2.60 – 3.40 – 2.87
The only match happening on Wednesday night this week is the only all Premier League clash as Southampton and Liverpool meet for the second time in just over a month following the 1-1 draw at Anfield at the end of October that saw Christian Benteke give Liverpool the lead after 77 minutes only for Sadio Mané to level ten minutes later before seeing a second yellow card and being sent off at the end of the match. The victor of this match will certainly be one of the favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley on February 28th, but will the two sides be able to be separated in 90 minutes this time?
Liverpool come into this match having lost just a single game since Jurgen Klopp took charge at the club and they have won six of the last seven matches, including thumping Man City 4-1 then defeating Bordeaux and Swansea over the last week. Southampton, however, come into this Capital One Cup game on the back of successive defeats as their goals have dried up with just two in their last three games. Liverpool are certainly the stronger of these two sides form wise and with Klopp being out to claim a trophy in his first season as the manager we can see an away win in this final of the four Quarter Final matches.
Our top Southampton v Liverpool tip is back the away win at odds of 2.87 with Bet365.com.