League Cup preview: Liverpool and Arsenal meet for the second time in a week

The League Cup continues this week with the fourth round. Some intriguing ties mean that a few of the tournament favourites will be exiting the competition, but these also make for mouth-watering clashes for the neutral. 

Here is our look ahead to some of those enticing matches.

Spurs host Chelsea in London derby

The opening game of the round sees Frank Lampard’s Chelsea visit Jose Mourinho’s Spurs on Tuesday. Both teams have had up-and-down starts to their Premier League campaigns, with both picking up four points from three games.

Spurs (7/2) will feel the more hard done by after their controversial draw to Newcastle. VAR once again hit the headlines as a penalty was given deep into stoppage time after the ball struck the hand of an unaware Eric Dier. Whether it was harsh or not, the penalty was given and Jose’s men will want to bounce back with a win here. The north London club haven’t won silverware in over 12 years and the League Cup could be their best chance of amending that, so you’d imagine Mourinho will be taking the competition seriously.

It’s a similar story in the Chelsea camp. Things haven’t quite fallen into place yet this season, despite a plethora of big-name summer signings. They were brushed aside by Liverpool in their firsr home game of the season and then most recently, they salvaged a draw against West Brom after going 3-0 down in the first half. Lampard will want to prove himself this year to silence the critics and what better way of doing that than picking up a trophy? The Blues are currently 7/10 to progress past Spurs.

Everton to keep up fine start?

Two more Premier League mainstays clash on Wednesday as Everton host West Ham at Goodison Park. The Toffees (8/11) seem to be a different proposition this season with some very exciting additions in the transfer window. One of those is James Rodriguez who is 9/5 to score anytime against the Hammers.

Everton beat Spurs on the opening day before putting five past West Brom and most recently they got the better of Crystal Palace. They seem a real threat in all competitions this season and might fancy their chances of going all the way in the League Cup at 8/1.

West Ham started the season slowly with back-to-back defeats, but a convincing 4-0 victory over Wolves last weekend may have seen them turn a corner. They looked a different side with Jarrod Bowen netting twice and big-money signing Sebastien Haller coming off the bench to find the net. It’s too early to say whether this is a turning point in the Hammers season, but that win will give David Moyes’ players a massive confidence boost. A cup run will only add to that and they are 7/2 to gain a second consecutive win here.

Liverpool and Arsenal meet again

Arsenal will head to Anfield for the second time in a week when they meet in the League Cup on Thursday. Mikel Arteta has made an impressive start to life at the Emirates Stadium after taking the Gunners to FA Cup success after less than a year in charge. It was a fantastic achievement for the new manager, but he will now have his sights set on more trophies and getting Arsenal back into the Champions League.

Arteta has made some solid additions to his squad and this definitely looks a team more in keeping with his thinking, though as the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday showed, he still has a long way to go with his side largely unable to cope with the opposition at Anfield. The visitors are 5/2 for victory on Thursday.

Liverpool go into this fixture after demolishing Lincoln City 7-2 away from home in the last round and after their dominant display against the Gunners on Monday, they will be full of confidence in repeating the trick. That win against Lincoln was a strong performance from players that aren’t regularly in the squad – and they may be given another chance here.

Klopp hasn’t always prioritised this competition and it will be interesting to see how strong a side he puts out on Thursday. Given the Reds’ home record, it’s unsurprising they are the Evens favourites, with Mohamed Salah the market leader for the first goalscorer at 7/2. Divock Origi could be given a chance up front, however, and is 5/1 to break the deadlock.

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