EFL Cup and La Liga predictions & free football tips

Best bets, predictions and analysis for Wednesday's matches in the EFL Cup, EFL and Europe.

Where to watch

Rayo Vallecano v Barcelona
LaLigaTV, 6pm

Best bets

Brentford
2pts 7-5 Betfair

Marcus Forss to score at any time v Stoke
1pt 21-10 bet365

Rayo Vallecano to beat Barcelona
1pt 7-2 Betfair

Match previews

Brentford reached the semi-finals of last season’s EFL Cup and with Thomas Frank saying he will field a strong side for their last-16 clash at Stoke, the Bees are worth backing to continue on the road to Wembley.

Frank made wholesale changes in early-round wins over Forest Green (3-1) and Oldham (7-0), but told reporters on Monday that Brentford "will go strong" against the Potters.

Last season the Bees were balancing a cup run with a 46-game Championship campaign and were still able to claim the scalps of then-Premier League quartet Southampton, West Brom, Fulham and Newcastle.

Now a top-flight side themselves, Brentford should see this as an excellent opportunity to challenge for silverware and look overpriced to silence Stoke, who have endured three straight league defeats.

Frank has also confirmed Marcus Forss as a starter and the Finnish forward should make his presence felt with a goal at the bet365 Stadium.

The 22-year-old looked lively when coming off the bench in recent Premier League matches with Chelsea and Leicester and has scored five goals from two appearances in the EFL Cup, four of which came in the hammering of Oldham.

There is also plenty of European action on Wednesday and home comforts could help Rayo Vallecano add to Barcelona's woes.

Vallecano find themselves a point above Barca in seventh in La Liga and have won all four outings on their own patch, scoring 12 goals and conceding just twice.

Barca boss Ronald Koeman saw the pressure ramped up on him following Sunday’s El Clasico defeat at home to Real Madrid, when they registered just two shots on target, and performances have been even worse on their travels.

The Catalan giants are without a win in four away matches and have failed to score on trips to Cadiz, Benfica and Atletico Madrid recently.

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