With five EFL Cup fourth round ties on Wednesday, there’s the whiff of an upset or two in the air with Preston, Stoke City and West Ham all hoping to defy the odds and make the quarter-finals.
PNE host Liverpool, Stoke welcome Brentford, while holders Manchester City go to West Ham. There are also two more all-Premier League ties when Burnley host Tottenham and Leicester City face Brighton at the King Power Stadium.
Much-changed Reds
For those on the hunt for an upset, eyes will be trained on Deepdale when a much-changed Liverpool take on their north-west neighbours. Liverpool go into the game bouncing following the 5-0 humbling of arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, but it will be a different side that takes to the field on Wednesday night.
Like in the previous round, a 3-0 win at Norwich, Jurgen Klopp will delve into his squad and academy ranks for the fourth round tie. However, he will not be able to field second-choice keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who has been ruled out through illness, while exciting teen forward Kaide Gordan also misses out through injury.
The likes of Joe Gomez, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi should all start against a PNE outfit who sit 19th in the second tier, just six points clear of the bottom three. The home side will field Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg, who has been granted permission to play against his parent club.
The fact the Reds will be much-changed gives Preston a glimmer of hope but an away win looks likely with a two-goal or more winning margin appealing at odds of 4/5.
Stoke Tricky for Bees
Elsewhere, Stoke will be looking for another Premier League scalp when they entertain Brentford. The Potters beat Watford in the previous round and will hope experienced midfielder Joe Allen is passed fit for the tie after he needed stitches on a cut sustained in the defeat to Millwall at the weekend.
Stoke, who are ninth in the second tier but have lost their last three games, are a tempting 43/20 to win but a more astute bet might be a draw at full-time, on offer at 23/10, with the visitors expected to make wholesale changes as they prioritise their debut Premier League campaign.
Hammers can Test Holders
Holders Manchester City could be tested by in-form West Ham, where another draw in this at the end of 90 minutes to take it straight to penalties appeals at 17/5.
Burnley have struggled so far this season but they look good value at 13/10 to qualify and get past an unpredictable and likely-to-be-much-changed Spurs, while Leicester should have too much for Brighton, who have stuttered of late.
After a very good start to the season, the Seagulls have now not won in four games, drawing three, and a home win in the 90 minutes in this tie is available at 1/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
