The Carabao Cup has gotten some unwanted press this season after some major fixture blunders in the first round draw which was hosted out in Bangkok (the home of the sponsors). The second round draw had incorrect fixtures announced as well and third round draw was at 4 am UK time as part of some terrible planning.
On Thursday the quarter-final draw was up and it was supposed to a cool live streaming event on Twitter. But all that went downhill pretty quickly with technical issues which meant that after a long delay, it was only shown via pre-recorded video. It is not a great way to try and boost the credibility of the tournament which most of the big clubs don’t take seriously anyway. But the draw for her quarter-finals is all done and dusted and the big guns left in the field, namely Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, all managed to avoid each other.
Carabao Cup Quarter Final Draw
- Arsenal v West Ham
- Leicester v Manchester City
- Chelsea v Bournemouth
- Bristol City v Manchester United
The stand out fixture there is Bristol City v Manchester United as the Robins are the lowest ranked side left in the tournament. They did a great number over Crystal Palace in the last round, beating the Eagles 4-1 and that was their third Premier League scalp of their impressive cup run. Bristol City took out Watford in the second round and then Stoke in the third round, so it hasn’t been an easy path for them but they produced some fantastic stuff, now having scored fourteen goals in four League Cup games this season.
Bristol City are the 80/1 rank outsiders to lift the Carabao Cup this season. Their best ever performances in the League Cup were semi-final places in the 1970/71 and 1988/89 seasons. At the other end of the market, it is Manchester City who are the 2/1 favourites as they face a trip out at Leicester. This competition is obviously not the biggest priority for the Citizens though which could leave things a little open and they needed a penalty shoot-out to get past Championship leaders Wolves in the fourth round.
Manchester United will be expected to progress to the semi-final at the expense of Bristol City and get a step closer to defending their title, and at odds of 4/1 with Stan James, the Red Devils will have appeal to go all the way. Chelsea are 7/2 to lift the trophy with Arsenal at 6/1. While the four big guns managed to all avoid each other in the quarter finals, it could, of course, lead to some heavyweight duels in the semi-finals if they all get through.
Carabao Cup Odds
Man City 2/1, Man Utd 3/1, Chelsea 7/2, Arsenal 6/1, Leicester 14/1, West Ham 18/1, Bournemouth 22/1, Bristol City 80/1