EFL Cup Quarter-Final Cheat Sheet: Best bets for Wednesday and Thursday's ties | OneFootball

EFL Cup

Eight Premier League teams will take part in the EFL Cup quarter-finals this week

Here's an early festive season gift from our football experts as they serve up their best bets for the EFL Cup quarter-finals which take place on Wednesday and Thursday...

EFL quarter-Finals tips and predictions

Wednesday 19:30 - Arsenal v Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr can hit target at 6/4

Lewis Jones: "Crystal Palace's strong record against the top teams makes sense as Glasner's team is built to be organised without the ball and then counter quickly and directly through the middle when the play turns over.

And Palace do have the pace and power in attack to cause problems. I'll be stunned if they don't adopt the same approach as they did against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Brighton where they played very directly and got the ball forward quickly to Ismalia Sarr, who has reveled playing in this system.

He scored at in the 2-2 draw at Villa and grabbed himself a double at the Amex on Sunday meaning he's now had 13 shots on target in his last nine starts for Palace. A player with that sort of strike-rate is usually shorter in the market than the 6/4 on offer here even factoring in Arsenal's price in the outright market. I think Sarr will go in again for his on target backers.

Wednesday 19:45 - Newcastle v Brentford: Back goals as Toon to advance

Paul Higham: "Different teams have different priorities but both Newcastle and Brentford should have the Carabao Cup pretty high up there now they've made it this far. We should get a decent contest at St James' Park.

"The Magpies are in their third straight quarter-final, making the final in 2023, and along with being at home they're coming off a thumping win at the weekend and have had an extra day to prepare. So there are plenty of reasons for Eddie Howe's Newcastle being the 8/15 home favourites.

"Thomas Frank's side did win the last Premier League meeting between the teams at the Gtech Stadium just over a week ago though, and we could get something like that 4-2 victory for the Bees again here, given how both sides have seen plenty of goals fly in recently.

"And even though we're depending on team selections, there's more than enough attacking talent in this Brentford side for them to win as 9/2 away outsiders if they play at their best. Given all the factors, though, I think you have to go with Newcastle. With team changes, and the recent trend of goals, adding both teams to score seems reasonable."

Wednesday 20:00 - Southampton v Liverpool: Back Reds at 8/5

Andy Schooler: "Whoever plays, Liverpool's XI is likely to look much better on paper and it's hard to get away from wanting to side with them in some shape or form. They are just 1.45 for victory in 90 minutes on the Betfair Exchange, although you can get that up to 2.6 by backing them towin with both teams scoring.

"Both of their wins in this competition so far have come via that method - 5-1 at home to West Ham and 3-2 at Brighton in the last round. Saints have also landed the BTTS bet in their three games in the Carabao Cup, as well as recent league games with Arsenal, Chelsea and, of course, Liverpool.

"Throw in the defensive unfamiliarity that the visitors are facing and this looks the way to get with the hot favourites."

Thursday 20:00 - Tottenham v Man Utd: Goals quotes look too high

Dave Tindall: "Given the stakes, perhaps this will be tighter than the market expects. Unders backers basically have an extra goal to play with as Under 3.5 - a 20/23 shot - is the price we'd often expect for Under 2.5.

"Although there were ultimately three goals at the Etihad on Sunday, it was a game that never really threatened goals. And, of course, Under 3.5 would have landed.

Widening the view, Under 3.5 goals has landed in 11 of Manchester United's 12 away fixtures this season. That's quite a stat. Adding a filter, it's landed in every United domestic road game.

"Spurs clearly have some crazy goal-laden matches in their locker but three of their last five outings have featured two or fewer so they're not the Harlem Globe Trotters.

"And it's surely fair to say that Ruben Amorim has more nuance to his tactics than Postecoglou and can set United up to nullify the home threat."