Low Odds, High Odds: Four Carabao Cup SF Tips - 12/01/22

Chelsea travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 lead, following a strike by Kai Havertz, as well as an own goal by Ben Davies, following a misjudged clearance by Japhet Tanganga which hit the Welshman and flew in past his own goalkeeper.

Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated the match last time out having had 19 shots to Spurs’ five with 64% possession and will be expected to put in a similar performance in order to prevent any doubt of sealing their place in the final of the competition.

Spurs will be expected to go for the match and ultimately have to score against Chelsea if they are to stand any chance of making it through to the final of the competition.

Romelu Lukaku is a player that will have to prove himself in the near future under Tuchel following his apology to the German manager and Chelsea fans for declaring his love for Inter Milan in an explosive interview.

The Belgian scored last time out against Chesterfield in the FA Cup to take his overall tally for the season up to eight in 20 appearances, seeing the 28-year-old former Manchester United man average a goal every 157 minutes, an impressive ratio.

Lukaku will be determined to impress against his former manager, Conte, whilst also repairing his relationship with the fans of the Stamford Bridge club here by scoring against their rivals.

Liverpool against Arsenal will be the first leg of their semi-final in this competition following the postponement of the initial match at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal will be coming into this match fancying their chances if Liverpool keep up their policy of playing weakened sides in this competition by using a mix of youth and fringe players. What is certain, is that key players such as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will be unavailable for this match due to their involvement in the AFCON in Cameroon with Egypt and Senegal.

The Gunners will be desperate to bounce back from their below-par display at Nottingham Forest with a victory here as they’ll ultimately have a point to prove, especially having gone toe to toe with Manchester City just one week prior to their humiliating loss at the City Ground.

Gabriel Martinelli is a player that has been in decent form of late for Arteta’s men, as the 20-year-old Brazilian recently scored a brace in a 4-1 win at Leeds, as well as in his side’s 2-0 victory against West Ham in mid-December. Martinelli has scored two goals in two appearances against the Anfield club.

Bukayo Saka is having a good season for Arsenal so far, having managed seven goals and four assists 23 matches. The 20-year-old looks to be coming of age this season and will be looking to add to the two assists he has managed against the Reds in five matches with a goal.

The last time Arsenal beat Liverpool by a 2-1 scoreline was at the end of the 2019/20 campaign on matchday 36, when Jurgen Klopp’s side had already been crowned as champions of the Premier League for the first-ever time.

If Arsenal are to win against Liverpool, then it will likely be a close scoreline that they will do it by having only won at Anfield once since the end of the 2011/12 season, which ironically came in this competition in October 2020, edging out Klopp’s men 5-4 on penalties in the Round of 16 following a 0-0 draw.