The English Premier League has been on a brief hiatus as a 10-day break in between the last game and the next matchday takes place.
In place of the Premier League we have been treated to FA Cup and EFL Cup action, and as we get closer to the return of the EPL we have just three games across the two competitions remaining.
The first of the two see’s Wigan Athletic host Manchester United in the FA Cup before moving on to the EFL Cup semi-finals between Middlesbrough and Chelsea on Tuesday and Liverpool and Fulham on Wednesday.
With drama sure to take place across these three games, we’ve picked out our top tips and booking codes for the upcoming action:
Manchester United to win and over 2.5 goals, 1.55
Wigan Athletic vs Manchester United
Twelve-time FA Cup winners Manchester United travel to League One side Wigan Athletic tonight as they look to kickstart their FA Cup campaign and go one better than last season when they lost 2-1 to rivals Manchester City in the final.
54 places currently separate the two sides in the English pyramid and while Manchester United haven’t been at their best so far this season, currently sitting eighth in the league and already out of the Champions League, they are strong favourites in this one. These two sides last met in 2017 when Manchester United won 4-0 in the FA Cup fourth round, and this has been a common scoreline in recent matches between these two with three of the last four meetings ending 4-0 to Manchester United.
While it has been a long time since this two sides played one another, Erik ten Hag is sure to play a strong side as the pressure mounts on him. This alongside the history of goals in this fixture make us believe that United will win with at least three goals scored in the match.
Cole Palmer to score anytime, 2.75
Chelsea make the journey to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night in the first of two EFL Cup semi-final matches to be played. Chelsea will be favourites coming into this match, but it is unlikely to be an easy task with Middlesbrough showing their quality as they took this season’s unlikely title challengers Aston Villa right down to the wire in their eventual 1-0 FA Cup loss last week.
Mauricio Pochettino is likely to put out a strong 11 as he looks to claim his first silverware as Chelsea boss, and Cole Palmer is certain to be a part of that given his form this season. Despite not scoring in the EFL Cup so far, Palmer leads Chelsea’s goalscoring charts in the Premier League with eight goals in 17 appearances. With three goals in his last five appearances across all competitions, we believe that Palmer’s goalscoring form will continue once again in this one as Chelsea look to progress into their fourth EFL Cup final in seven years.
Liverpool to win, 1.37
Making up the second semi-final of the EFL Cup is Liverpool and Fulham who will both be confident coming into this one after their FA Cup victories last week. Liverpool took a page from Fulham’s book in their game against Arsenal as they sat back and counter-attacked the Gunners eventually winning 2-0, while Fulham beat Rotherham United 1-0.
Liverpool will be without a whole host of their senior squad with Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip out injured. Wataru Endo and Mohamed Salah are also ruled out due to their involvement in AFCON. Fulham have also lost players to AFCON as Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi join the Nigeria squad and Fode Ballo-Toure joins Senegal.
Even with these losses, Liverpool’s side is much superior to Fulham’s, and while it is likely to be a close encounter much like the 4-3 meeting last month, we expect that Liverpool will go on to claim victory in the first leg of this semi-final tie.
Best Booking Code: 5ZDHTMM
EFL Cup Booking Code: 5ZDHWFW
