Manchester City, Bristol City, Arsenal and Chelsea are just two games away from reaching the first major domestic final of the season. All four clubs have come through some tricky ties to book their place in the semi finals of the EFL Cup and all four managers will be dreaming of silverware.
The first legs of the semi finals take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. First up is Bristol City’s daunting trip to play Man City at the Etihad before Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. As well as hopefully providing entertainment for the neutrals, the EFL Cup semi finals also provide us with plenty of betting opportunities which we’ve sought to maximise for you by picking out our selection of the best bets. With seven great tips in total you can pick and choose what takes your fancy or go all in and back the lot!
- Man City v Bristol City
- Man City to Win to Nil (5/6 with BetVictor)
- Man City to Win 2-0 (6/1 with Betfair)
- Man City/Man City in Half Time/Full Time (3/5 with Ladbrokes)
- Chelsea v Arsenal
- Chelsea to Win (4/5 with Bet365)
- Both Teams to Score – 8/11 with Betfair)
- Over 3.5 Goals (7/4 with Coral)
- Penalty to be Awarded (11/4 with Betfair)
Man City v Bristol City – 9th January
Bristol City are used to overcoming the odds this season. At the start of the campaign most Robins fans would have been happy with their team avoiding relegation but Lee Johnson now has them dreaming of promotion to the Premier League. Bristol City are just two points shy of the automatic promotion places and it’s not just the league where they’ve triumphed against the odds.
Bristol City have made it to the semi finals of the EFL Cup despite being the underdogs for almost every fixture. After thrashing Plymouth 5-0 at Ashton Gate in the first round, City then kicked on to beat four Premier League teams – Watford, Stoke, Crystal Palace and Manchester United. There is no question that Man City at the Etihad is the toughest test for Johnson and his men to date but equally, there is no question that they’ll give it their all. Having seen off Man United in the last round, the underdogs will no doubt dare to dream.
Crystal Palace became just the second Premier League team to stop Man City from winning on New Year’s Eve. But, it took Pep Guardiola’s all conquering team penalties to get past Wolves in the fourth round. Bristol City can take heart from Wolves’ performance that night even if they go into the match as the massive underdogs at 22/1 with Ladbrokes.
As you’d expect against opponents at that price, Man City are only available at heavy odds on. Although there is almost no chance of anything other than a Man City win, betting on them at a general 1/6 offers little appeal. Instead, back the home side to win to nil at 5/6 with BetVictor. While City have the best defensive record in the Premier League, Bristol City will be desperate to do whatever they can to keep the tie alive for the second leg. The away side will be much more concerned with defending than attacking so that looks a good price about a comfortable Man City win.
Johnson will have watched a lot of Man City in the build up to this match. He’ll no doubt have seen them struggle to break down stubborn defences in recent months so expect Bristol City to sit very deep. Given the number of matches they’ve played recently, Man City will be aiming to win with the minimum possible effort so a bet on the Man City 2-0 correct score looks well priced at 6/1 with Betfair. Another way of profiting from a straightforward home win is backing the Man City/Man City option in Ladbrokes’ half time/full time market at 3/5.
Man City to Win to Nil – 5/6 with BetVictor
Man City to Win 2-0 – 6/1 with Betfair
Man City/Man City in Half Time/Full Time – 3/5 with Ladbrokes
Chelsea v Arsenal – 10th January
Chelsea and Arsenal will be sick of the sight of each other come the end of the month. As well as the EFL Cup semi finals, the two London rivals played out a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 draw in the Premier League last Wednesday. Both Antonio Conte and Arsene Wenger felt their teams should have won that match as they both held the lead in the second half. While they were both frustrated to share a point, it does set their semi final up very nicely indeed.
Last Wednesday’s game made it two league games in which Chelsea were frustrated not to beat Arsenal. The Gunners played very well during their 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge in September but it’s not a ground at which they have a very good record. Before that draw, Chelsea had won their last five home games against Arsenal. That good record and the desire amongst the Blues to exact revenge on Arsenal for last year’s FA Cup final makes Chelsea look the fair favourites at 4/5 with Bet365.
Although Chelsea should make the most of their home advantage, Arsenal will head across London with a fair amount of confidence. The 2-2 draw was arguably Arsenal’s best offensive performance of the season and they’ll believe they can cause the Chelsea defence yet more problems. So, make sure to bet on both teams to score at 8/11 with Betfair while betting on another entertaining game with over 3.5 goals can secure a tidy pay out at healthy enough odds of 7/4 with Coral.
Aside from being an EFL Cup semi final, Wednesday’s game will have a great deal of interest as it’s been chosen to test the Video Assistant Referee system. A London derby should prove a big test of VAR and it would be no surprise to see a few teething problems with the system in its very early days. Although it’s supposed to take human error out of decision making, VAR has caused controversy throughout Europe and there’s every chance the system will make the headlines on the back pages of Thursday’s papers. You can try to capitalise on this by betting on a penalty being awarded in the match at 11/4 with Betfair. With no love lost between these clubs, that’s always worth thinking about, whilst betting on a red card is another interesting possibility.
Chelsea to Win – 4/5 with Bet365
Both Teams to Score – 8/11 with Betfair
Over 3.5 Goals – 7/4 with Coral
Penalty to be Awarded – 11/4 with Betfair