Tottenham and Chelsea take a break from the English Premier League on Tuesday and face off in a first-leg semifinal of the Carabao Cup. Also called the EFL Cup or League Cup, this competition is open to any club in the top four levels of English soccer. The tournament is played over seven rounds, with single leg ties throughout, except the semifinals. Let’s take a look at the latest soccer odds to find out which team is offering the best value.
Tottenham vs Chelsea 2019 Carabao Cup Semifinal Odds & Expert Pick
👀 ⚪️ Last time out in the @Carabao_Cup… #COYS pic.twitter.com/elXmbuN8yc
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) 8 de enero de 2019
- When: Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET
- Where: Wembley Stadium, London
- TV: ESPN+
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- 2019 Carabao Cup Semifinal Odds: Tottenham +123, Chelsea +205, Draw +230 (Total 2.5)
Last Meeting
These clubs played most recently on Nov. 24 in the Premier League, with Tottenham winning 3-1 at Wembley Stadium. Goals from Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-Min put Spurs three up before Olivier Giroud grabbed a late consolation goal. Tottenham took the lead after eight minutes through Alli, who headed home from Christian Eriksen’s free-kick — his fifth goal in six games against Chelsea.Why Bet Tottenham?
Tottenham is looking to win their first silverware under manager Mauricio Pochettino and their first since 2008 when they lifted the League Cup by beating Chelsea in the final.They are off a 7-0 rout of Tranmere Rovers on Jan. 4 in the FA Cup. Tottenham’s Fernando Llorente scored a hat trick as they chalked up their record competitive away win. Tranmere manager Micky Mellon acknowledged his team, who won promotion to League Two from the fifth-tier National League last term, were outclassed by a side who are third in the top flight.
“You have to say that Spurs are fantastic, haven’t you? We will be disappointed with certain moments and a lot of the goals. But listen that’s what happens when you make mistakes. You get punished. We got punished very, very heavily,” Mellon said.
Tottenham’s last Carabao Cup match was a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Dec. 19. Dele Alli helped put his team ahead with a superb pass for scorer Son Heung-Min in the first half, then netted a beautiful goal of his own just short of the hour mark, running in and calmly chipping the ball over Arsenal keeper Petr Cech.
Tottenham will be without Lucas Moura for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semifinal first leg. Moura picked up a knee injury in the FA Cup win at Tranmere, while Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama are also out.
Spurs haven’t reached the Carabao Cup final since 2014-15. They were beaten by Chelsea that year, as Jose Mourinho claimed his first trophy in his second spell as the Blues boss.
Tottenham have won their last two matches against Chelsea, both in the Premier League – they haven’t won three in a row against their London rivals in all competitions since a run of five between March 1961 and September 1963.
Projected Line-up
- 22-P. Gazzaniga
- 3-D. Rose
- 4-T. Alderweireld
- 2-K. Trippier
- 33-B. Davies
- 17-M. Sissoko
- 23-C. Eriksen
- 27-Lucas Moura
- 20-D. Alli
- 10-H. Kane
- 7-Son Heung-Min
Why Bet Chelsea?
This is the ninth League Cup match between these sides, and the first since 2015 final – of the previous eight meetings, Spurs have won two, Chelsea has won four with two draws. Chelsea has qualified for the League Cup final on four of the previous five occasions they’ve played the first leg away from home, despite winning just one of those games (D2 L2).Spurs and Chelsea are set to meet in a League Cup semifinal for the third time, having also done so in 1971-72 and 2001-02 – the only fixture to be played more often at this stage is Arsenal against Spurs (four occasions).
Cesc Fabregas gave an emotional speech to his Chelsea teammates after making what looks to be his final Stamford Bridge appearance before leaving to join Monaco in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round. Fabregas, who captained Chelsea in the game and missed a penalty with the score goalless, received a standing ovation when he was substituted with five minutes remaining. Fabregas is set to leave Chelsea in the transfer window.
Chelsea advanced to this semifinal with a 1-0 win over AFC Bournemouth on Dec. 19. It was courtesy an 84th-minute Eden Hazard goal that spun into the net after a heavy deflection.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is expected to name a strong lineup as Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Willian are all set to return from injury. Midfielder Mateo Kovacic should recover from illness but Ruben Loftus-Cheek is ruled out with a back injury. After Spurs scored twice in the opening 16 minutes during their meeting in November, Sarri has urged his Chelsea side to be “more aggressive”.
“We need to approach this match in another way because we lost the [last] match in the first 16 minutes,” said Sarri. “They were really more aggressive than us, more determined than us.”
Hazard has scored in his last three League Cup appearances – the last player to score in four consecutive appearances in the competition was Dwight Gayle in September 2015 for Crystal Palace.
Projected Line-up
- 1-Kepa
- 28-Azpilicueta
- 33-Emerson
- 2-A. Rüdiger
- 27-Andreas Christensen
- 10-E. Hazard
- 8-R. Barkley
- 17-M. Kovačić
- 12-R. Loftus-Cheek
- 22-Willian
- 18-O. Giroud
