EFL Cup winner odds and outright predictions: City's stranglehold to continue

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the EFL Cup.

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Manchester City
3pts 3-1 general

Brentford
0.5pt each-way 66-1 bet365

EFL Cup preview

The EFL Cup lies bottom in the list of priorities for much of the Premier League, but Pep Guardiola has enjoyed something of a love affair with the competition and can lead his mighty Manchester City to a fifth straight trophy success

Since arriving in England in 2016, Guardiola has been committed to treating all silverware with the utmost respect and that includes the League Cup, a competition City have struck gold in in six of the last eight seasons.

Defending their Premier League title and conquering Europe for a first time will be top target for Guardiola, but the Spaniard is addicted to winning and won’t hand over the trophy without a fight.

That’s not to say Guardiola won’t ring the changes for a midweek EFL Cup encounter but such is the strength in depth at his disposal that it would very rarely harm them.

While many top-flight teams may neglect a cup challenge in order to protect their Premier League status or to focus on European matters, City needn't panic.

The Citizens’ second 11 is not far off the level set by their strongest and Guardiola has the potential to change every player from one game to the next with it having little impact.

City overcame Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham to claim last season’s silverware and when the competition warms up they have the weapons to call upon many others don’t.

A third-round date at the Etihad with League One Wycombe should pose few problems and given their recent dominance in the competition, outright quotes of 3-1 still represent value.

Liverpool have not reached the EFL Cup final since finishing runners-up to City in 2016 and manager Jurgen Klopp has done little in recent campaigns to suggest a cup run is top of his priorities.

The Reds showed last season that they don’t have the ammunition in reserve like City or Chelsea, who look focused on a Premier League challenge and have their Champions League crown to defend.

Arsenal don’t have European commitments and host Wimbledon in the third round, but are proving difficult to trust and may have been overrated by the layers.

It is worth noting that there are a number of all-Premier League affairs taking place in the next phase of the competition, which means the market may have a very different feel to it come Wednesday evening.

Spurs travel to Wolves, Chelsea host Aston Villa, while Manchester United and West Ham lock horns for the second time in the space of a week.

With that in mind, a more speculative punt should be taken on last season’s semi-finalists Brentford, who have a place in the last 16 at their mercy as they host League Two basement boys Oldham.

The Bees made the semi-finals last season despite embarking on a 46-game Championship campaign and recorded wins over then Premier League quartet Southampton, West Brom, Fulham and Newcastle.

Thomas Frank’s side have settled well to life in the top-flight, losing only one of their opening five games, and with a bit of luck with the draw should outrun their quotes of 66-1.

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