Meanwhile, Manchester City take on Burton Albion in other semi the following evening
Next week will see the first legs of the EFL Cup semi-final games take place. This coming Tuesday evening (8 January) London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea will lock horns in the first leg, before Manchester City host minnows Burton Albion the following evening at their Etihad Stadium home.
First things first
Before you go any further, head on over to the Oddsshark website, find your favourite betting site and get your own account up and running using your credit card. As a new customer and with the EFL Cup reaching its climax, there should be a wide range of promotions and special offers available to you.
Where should I be investing my money?
First up, the clash between Spurs and Chelsea. Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in recent weeks, but there is something he has never done at Tottenham yet – win a trophy.
This would seem an excellent opportunity to do just that, with his side seemingly out of the Premier League title race following a 3-1 home defeat to Wolves just after Christmas. Spurs sit third in the league, six points off the top of the table.
They come up against a Chelsea aide which has taken seven points from its last three games, but must still remember the heavy defeat handed out to them the last time these two teams met t Wembley at the back end of November. On that occasion, Spurs ran out comfortable 3-1 winners largely thanks to two goals in the opening 15 minutes.
If Tottenham can recreate that kind of intensity this time around as well then Chelsea could be in a lot of trouble. The Blues were booed off after a goalless draw against Southampton in their most recent league contest.
And it is indeed Tottenham who come in as the favourites to win this first leg tie. You can more than double your money by backing Spurs to win at 2.20, with Chelsea out at 3.20 to take an advantage into the second leg – a draw would appear to be the least likely outcome and is priced accordingly at 3.60, according to Oddsshark.
You can also make a simpler bet based simply on who will make the final. Both sides are priced at 1.90 to show just how closely these two sides are matched.
And we are expecting Tottenham to edge this first leg tie. A narrow, 2-1 win for the home side is priced at 8.50, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$42.50 pay out, while you could quadruple your money by backing a combo bet of a home victory, coupled with both teams to score, at 4.00.
City should thrash Burton
The second semi-final sees defending Premier League champions Manchester City take on Burton Albion, and there cannot be too many people giving the minnows a fighting chance in this clash. City have won their last two league games, including a huge 2-1 victory over current table toppers Liverpool.
Burton, meanwhile, sit 13th in League One, the third tier of English club football. Their one silver lining is the fact that they have now gone three games unbeaten, although two of those matches ended in a draw – their chances of walking away from the Etihad with a lead to defend are slim, bordering on the non-existent.
City come in as the overwhelming favourites to win this first leg tie in front of their own fans. The Cityzens are at just 1.10 to win the game, with Burton all the way out at 21.00 to cause what would be a massive shock – a draw is priced in the middle at 9.00.
Again, you can make a simpler bet based on who will qualify from the two-legged tie and make the final. And once again, it is City who are the overwhelming favourites to do so, being priced at just 1.020, with Burton Albion out at 19.00 to make it through.
This really should be a walkover for the Premier League side. A 4-0 win for the home team is priced at 7.50, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$37.50 pay out, while you could close to triple your investment by backing City to be ahead inside the first 10 minutes.
However, if you think it will be slightly closer, you could more than double your money by backing a total of just two or three goals in the game at 2.37.
EFL semi-finals:
Tuesday, 8 January
(2.10) Tottenham Hotspur x Chelsea (3.20); draw (3.60)
Wednesday, 9 January
(1.10) Manchester City x Burton Albion (21.00); draw (9.00)
