*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widget, while in-copy odds are accurate at time of publication but subject to change
The Carabao Cup swings back into action this week and Paddy Power football trader Brian McDonnell has given his top tips ahead of the first quarter-finals.
Brentford host Newcastle in the early kick-off on Tuesday, with the Bees looking to knock out their fourth Premier League opponent this season, before Arsenal welcome holders Manchester City to the Emirates.
Brian has previewed both clashes and picked out two selections which can be combined to make a delightful Double – check out his chat with PPTV’s Graham Temple in the videos below:
5.30pm: Brentford v Newcastle – Brentford to win
Brentford are favourites for this tie, even though they’re obviously down in the Championship. They’ve started the season really well. A lot of teams struggle after losing a play-off final, which they did last last season, and it’s hard to bounce back, especially this season when there has been such a little gap between the end of last season and the start of this season.
They lost the Championship’s top goalscorer Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa but they’ve replaced him really well with Ivan Toney from Peterborough who already has 16 league goals and is the league’s top goalscorer this season.
Their performances have been as good as last season. They’ve been a bit guilty of not killing teams off though. They’re unbeaten in their last 13 league games now but seven of those have been draws so while they have been tough to beat they’re going to have to start winning more games if they’re going to get back into those automatic promotion spots this season.
MORE TIPS: Brentford can sting Newcastle in Carabao Cup quarter-final
In terms of Tuesday’s game in the Carabao Cup, I think if they had been promoted last season they would be in better shape than Newcastle are this season. Newcastle’s performances this season have been quite poor, and they’ve ridden their luck a lot of times to get the points that they do have in the league so far.
They give up the majority of the possession and without Allan Saint-Maximin they offer very little in terms of attacking threat going forward. Callum Wilson has bailed them out a couple of times with some important goals, a lot of those from the penalty spot, but he hasn’t played in this competition this season. I imagine he’ll be rested again with Andy Carroll or Joelinton starting up top. Neither of those have been on form this season either so I’m expecting Newcastle to sit deep in this one and let Bradford have the ball.
That will suit Brentford, who are as good as some of the teams in the Premier League this season. They’ve knocked out three Premier League teams in this competition so far already in West Brom, Fulham and Southampton as well. It’s going to be no surprise to me if they knock out Newcastle tonight and I’m going with Brentford to win this one.
8pm: Arsenal v Manchester City – City to Win To Nil
Arsenal are in real bother and it’s hard to see anything other than a Man City win. They’ve won this competition for the last three seasons in a row and you know it’s due to the simple reason that their rotated team is just as good as most Premier League starting XIs.
They have such a big squad of world-class players, especially their attacking players that they can call upon, and they’re invariably coming up against rotated teams that they’re far too strong.
If you look at Arsenal, it’s unlikely that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is going to play. He was out at the weekend against Everton because he had an injury. If you look at their midfield, it’s hard to see where the creativity is going to come from. Arteta could rotate his squad from the league games and use some of the players who he played in the Europa League – the likes of Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe.
MORE TIPS: Arsenal to upset Man City with our 21/1 Carabao Cup bet builder
It works in that competition, but they are coming up against the likes of Dundalk and Molde, not Manchester City. This Man City team are probably going to start with Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero so they’re going to be far too powerful for this Arsenal backline.
And City’s defence has shored up as well recently. They’ve only considered one goal in their last eight games with Ruben Dias and John Stones at the back. I think Nathan Ake may come in for this one but still, when you look at the number of goals Arsenal have scored recently compared to City, it’s very hard to see Arsenal even scoring here.
If you look at Man City’s last seven wins against Arsenal, six of those have come To Nil so that’s what I’m backing here. Man City to win this one To Nil – they’re odds-on to win the game, but it boosts up the price.
Carabao Cup tips
Brentford v Newcastle United [5.30pm]: Brentford to win
Arsenal v Manchester City [8.00pm]: City to Win To Nil
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widget, while in-copy odds are accurate at time of publication but subject to change
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