Carabao Cup Predictions: Bets for both semi-finals at 5/2 and 10/3 | OneFootball

Football Tips

Slot's first trophy on Merseyside is well within reach

Ste Tudor assesses this week's Carabao Cup semi-finals with a tip for the two games and a prediction for the ultimate winner of the competition ahead of next month's final.

It is entirely conceivable that this year's Carabao Cup final will be made up of Newcastle and Liverpool.

The Magpies host the Gunners this evening protecting a chunky two-goal advantage while the Reds have a single goal deficit to overcome at Anfield that is hardly insurmountable.

Arne Slot's men have scored 2+ goals at home in 16 of their 17 fixtures this season across all comps and moreover a 6-3 thumping of Spurs in North London remains fresh in the memory.

The title favourites can also count themselves unfortunate to lose the first leg, forcing Antonin Kinsky into making six saves. The keeper deservedly won the Player of the Match merit.

Let's separate these two contests and deal with them one at a time but the upshot is that both North London giants could well miss out on a trip to Wembley next month.

Newcastle v Arsenal - 5/2 OddsBoost hard to ignore

Newcastle have lost their last two home fixtures while Arsenal are unbeaten in nine on their travels. Additionally, Mikel Arteta's men head north on the back of a rousing demolition of an arch rival in Manchester City.

Factor in too, the Gunners' propensity to score early in recent games - converting inside two minutes against City and Dinamo Zagreb - and given the immense value of an early strike in this one it puts the visitors firmly in the frame to prevail.

Yet all of the above omits context, and in a game of such magnitude context inevitably comes to the fore.

Trophyless for 70 years, St James Park will be a cauldron tonight, the fans propelling the players forward at every opportunity. This will negate the risk of the hosts succumbing to a muddled tactical approach, always a danger when going into a game protecting a lead.

Playing on the front-foot puts Isak and Gordon in the reckoning which leads us to a OddsBoost that is hard to ignore. Bruno Guimaraes has fouled every 58 mins in the league this term and tonight's clash could get feisty.

Liverpool v Spurs - 10/3 Bet Builder for Anfield

The possible return of Micky van de Ven and the availability of new signing Kevin Danso are both encouraging developments for the visitors but this is still a side decimated by injuries from back to front.

There's no Vicario, Udogie, Romero or Dragusin to withstand the constant barrage of red attacks coming their way. There's no Solanke, Johnson or Maddison to help relieve the pressure at the other end.

Last month, a makeshift Spurs XI put in a stoic display to see off Arne Slot's all-conquering side. Can they do likewise at Anfield, a ground where they have historically struggled? Tottenham have a terrible record on Merseyside, even when at their strongest, last winning there in 2011.

What they typically do manage, however, is to score there, doing so on their last six visits. This brings BTTS into play.

It's also pertinent that the last five meetings between these sides have produced 5.1 goals per 90.

As for the hosts, Mo Salah is an obvious contender to make the difference, scorer of 37.5% of Liverpool's league goals this term. The King of Egypt has scored or assisted every 66 minutes in 2024/25.

Backing Cody Gakpo though offers up better value. The winger did everything but score in the first leg, taking on three shots and executing three key passes.

Name on the cup

Presently, Liverpool are 5/4 to lift the Carabao Cup n March 16th and those odds are only going to plummet should they brush Spurs aside on Thursday evening.

Get on them now to extend on their record haul of 10 League Cup successes.

Now read Paul Higham's preview of Liverpool v Spurs here

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