The League Cup might have changed its name this season, but it’s still giving us a packed week of football to look forward to. Round three sees the entrance of the sides who qualified for Europe last season, now all of the big guns have entered in. Just who will be lifting the trophy early next year?
Here we’re looking at a few of the sides to watch, while we’ve picked out a few bets for this round. There’s certainly plenty of value to be found across the 16 matches. With so many top managers in England, this trophy might get a bit of a boost. While a few of the big names could miss out on the top four, they can always console fans with a cup win at Wembley.
Tuesday 20th September 2016
Leicester v Chelsea (19:45) – Over 1.5 Chelsea goals (11/10 with Coral)
The tie of the round comes at the King Power, with Chelsea the visitors. The Blues won this competition in 2015, before falling apart last year. Their dismal campaign is being followed up by Leicester, who have made an awful start after winning the title. While they did get their Champions League campaign off to a flyer, they’ve failed to win in three of their first four league games. Their defence has looked wide open, something which many teams have exploited. They could certainly do with a holding midfielder like Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante.
Kante has been impressive since arriving at Stamford Bridge, but he’s not contributed to a huge defensive improvement. The Blues are still leaking goals, but luckily they’re also scoring at an impressive rate. So far they’ve scored at least twice in every Premier League game (prior to their match against Liverpool), plus they put three past Bristol Rovers in their League Cup opener. Conte hasn’t quite established a typical Italian defence, but he has inspired their strike force. Given Leicester’s troubles with defending, the Blues should win this one and score a few along the way. Over 1.5 Chelsea goals is our tip here, which is 11/10 with Coral.
Everton v Norwich (19:45) – Everton -1 handicap (7/5 with Bet365)
The Toffees made an impressive start to this competition, winning 4-0 against Yeovil. They’ve been handed lower league opposition once again here. Norwich should prove to be a little tougher, they faced the Canaries in the Premier League last season. Everton really should be focusing on this competition, given their impressive squad and lack of European competition. They reached Wembley last season, losing out in the FA Cup semis. A return would be impressive for Ronald Koeman. You’d expect it is something the Dutchman has an eye on.
Norwich aren’t going to meet a heavily rotated side here, expect a lot of big names in Koeman’s selection. The new manager talked of making Goodison Park a stronghold, he can’t risk a cup upset at home. The Toffees were far too good for Norwich even during the Roberto Martinez era. They beat the Canaries 3-0 here back in May, a time when the fans were already asking for the manager’s head. Koeman has improved things and led the club to their best ever Premier League start. We’re backing him to take them into the last 16 in style. Everton to win with a -1 handicap is our tip, at 7/5 with Bet365.
Wednesday 21st September 2016
Swansea v Manchester City (19:45) – City to win and BTTS (2/1 with Betfair)
The current holders head to Swansea City on Wednesday night. This fixture was the last City faced before Pep Guardiola took over. Their 1-1 draw here on the final day of last season was also the last time they failed to win. A perfect start for the new coach has been incredible. Not only are they winning games, City are adapting to their new manager’s style quicker than anyone expected. Maybe it’s the lower quality of the Premier League, but Guardiola hasn’t faced the problems which Barcelona and Bayern Munich had early on.
This game is an interesting one for the Citizens. Swansea have been known for a good passing game, their players are familiar with the kind of press Guardiola likes. Francesco Guidolin has made them a little more direct, but you feel like the Welsh side could cause problems here. They might get an opportunity, since City are likely to rotate their back four. We can see Swansea mixing things up and catching out the visitor’s defence. While we see the holders going through, we’re backing an away win with both sides scoring. It looks like value at 2/1 with Betfair.
QPR v Sunderland (19:45) – Sunderland to win and over 2.5 goals (3/1 with Coral)
There’s an interesting subplot for Sunderland heading into this game. They may not be competing with rivals Newcastle in the league, but they have the Magpies’ shadow over them here. The Toon travelled to Loftus Road a week before this cup tie, and they ran out 6-0 winners. That rout had the Geordies praising Rafa Bentiez, while it highlighted some major issues for Rangers. They weren’t expected to make a promotion push, but it seems like they’re a lot further away than they believed. Could a cup run soften that blow?
The Black Cats will be expected to top what Newcastle did here, or at least match it. It’s going to be a point of pride for the R’s, they’ll see this as a potential scalp. Expect them to up their game, especially against a Sunderland defence which is having a torrid time this term. We’re backing the Premier League side to take the win, but we’re also backing plenty of goals here. Given how poor both defences are looking, we can’t see this clash being low-scoring. A win for Sunderland and over 2.5 goals is our bet, which Coral price at 3/1,