League Cup: Quarter-final round in full

With just eight sides left in this season’s League Cup, we’ve reached the business end of the competition: the quarter-final stage.

Ahead of the last eight ties, here’s all you need to know about the League Cup quarter-finals, including who’s still in the tournament and the latest League Cup odds.

Check out all the latest football betting odds at William Hill

What is the League Cup?

Organised by the English Football League (EFL), the League Cup is an annual knockout football tournament in English football. After the FA Cup, it is the country’s next most prestigious domestic cup competition. While the FA Cup is open to non-league sides across the country, the League Cup is only open to the 92 clubs that sit within the top four levels of the English football league system – the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. First held in 1960–61, the tournament is played over seven rounds, with the winner of the competition earning a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

What is the Carabao Cup? Due to sponsorship reasons the Football League Cup is also currently known as the Carabao Cup, while it is also referred to as the EFL Cup.

Which teams are in the League Cup quarter-finals?

The 2021-22 edition of the League Cup has witnessed a number of upsets with last year’s League Cup winners Manchester City being eliminated by West Ham on penalties in the fourth round. The Hammers’ victory ended Pep Guardiola’s side’s hopes of winning a fifth-straight League Cup. West Ham also defeated Manchester United in the third round.

Joining West Ham in the quarter-finals this season are Arsenal, Sunderland, Brentford, Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester and Spurs.

League Cup quarter-finals: Full schedule

The quarter-final League Cup games are in full below:

Tuesday 21st December

Arsenal v Sunderland (19:45)

Wednesday 22nd December

Brentford v Chelsea (19:45)

Liverpool v Leicester (19:45)

Spurs v West Ham (19:45)

League Cup: Betting odds

Arsenal host Sunderland in what will be the first quarter-final to kick off on Tuesday. The market suggests that Arsenal are the strong favourites at 1/7, but there were some bullish words from Sunderland manager Lee Johnson before the draw even took place. He made a dig stating that he’d welcome the North London club in the quarter-finals, suggesting that they aren’t one of the “big guns”. However, his side will go into this as the underdogs at 14/1.

Arsenal are enjoying a successful stint in the Premier League and will spend Christmas Day inside the top four for the first time since 2016. They are third favourites to win the tournament priced at 7/2. However, this won’t be a walk in the park, as Sunderland are unbeaten in their last seven league games and currently sit third in League One. Although their quality should see them past the northern team, they can’t afford to be complacent.

The rest of the fixtures are all Premier League clashes. Chelsea are clear favourites (8/13) against Brentford (4/1), with Thomas Tuchel’s side also fancied to win the tournament (9/4). Also playing on Wednesday are Liverpool and Leicester, with the Reds priced at 4/7 compared to the Foxes price of 4/1. Brendan Rodgers’ side hasn’t been enjoying the same success as previous seasons, currently sitting ninth in the table. A win over title-contenders Liverpool would be huge for the team heading into the New Year.

Rounding off the quarter-final ties is Tottenham (6/5) against West Ham (2/1). With the news that Spurs have been eliminated from the UEFA Conference League, this could be the best chance of silverware for the Lilywhites. They are 6/1 to go all the way but must get past a strong West Ham side in order to progress.

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