Four Premier League teams are eyeing a trip to Wembley for the EFL Cup final and the Racing Post’s Ian Wilkerson has his best bets for the two semi-final first-leg matches.
Southampton host Newcastle in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday, while Manchester United travel to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
Southampton v Newcastle
Newcastle to win @ 8/11
Callum Wilson to score at any time @ 6/4
| What | Southampton v Newcastle |
| Where | St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton |
| When | 20:00 Tuesday 24th January 2023 |
| How to watch | Sky Sports Main Event & Football |
| Odds | Southampton 17/4, Draw 5/2, Newcastle 8/11 |
Magpies have their eyes on the prize
It is turning into an excellent season for Newcastle and their fans can taste success as they hunt for their first major trophy for 54 years.
They have not reached the EFL Cup final since 1976 but Eddie Howe’s side may not have a better chance after being paired with Southampton, who are bottom of the Premier League.
They have already posted a 4-1 win at St Mary’s in the league and as they have already been knocked out of the FA Cup by League One Sheffield Wednesday, we can expect a strong visiting line-up.
Saints still have a way to go
New Southampton manager Nathan Jones has struggled since taking over from Ralph Hasenhuttl and Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa was a huge disappointment.
There has been cause to cheer in the cup competitions, particularly after they beat Manchester City to earn their place in the last four.
However, City were off-colour that day and it is difficult to imagine Newcastle making the long journey in anything other than high spirits.
The Saints have lost four of their last five home games against Premier League opposition and the Magpies are likely to be too strong for them in Tuesday’s first leg. 8/11 for an away victory looks a big price.
Callum Wilson has not scored since a brace in Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa on 29th October, but the tide could be about to change.
Wilson has scored six goals this term and he went close on a couple of occasions in the goalless draw at Selhurst Park.
He also had seven efforts, three of which were on target, in the win over Fulham the week before, so it is worth chancing that he has got his eye in and can reward those who back him to score at any time at 6/4.
Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
Manchester United and both teams to score @ 13/5
Marcus Rashford to score at any time @ 13/8
| What | Nottm Forest v Man Utd |
| Where | City Ground, Nottingham |
| When | 20:00 Wednesday 25th January 2023 |
| How to watch | Sky Sports Main Event & Football |
| Odds | Nottm Forest 17/4, Draw 14/5, Man Utd 4/6 |
United looking to get back to winning ways
Manchester United’s hopes of winning the Premier League were probably extinguished by their defeat at leaders Arsenal on Sunday, but this is turning into a decent season under Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils are firmly in the Champions League picture and will be heavily fancied to win the EFL Cup as they head to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the semi-finals.
The loss to a late goal at the Emirates and a draw a few days earlier at Crystal Palace stopped a run of nine straight victories, but they could easily have won both of those matches and they look a long way from the team who were dismantled 4-0 at Brentford in August.
Forest, though, may fancy their chances as they are undefeated in their last four league games, having beaten Liverpool in the league and Tottenham in the EFL Cup as well as drawing with Chelsea on the banks of the Trent.
Ten Hag’s boys look equipped to win
The fixture list has been quite kind to United with an FA Cup clash with Reading looming, so Ten Hag can field a strong side on Wednesday and give some of his stars a break at the weekend.
That is bad news for Forest and while they have defended well recently at home, they could struggle to keep a lid on their opponents.
United have scored in their 13 games since that Brentford debacle and have notched at least twice in nine of their last 11 matches.
However, they have kept a clean sheet in two of their last 10 away league and cup matches, so the 13/5 about them winning and both teams scoring is appealing.
If Nottingham Forest are to have an enjoyable evening, then there is a good chance they will have to stop Marcus Rashford and few teams have managed that lately.
The England striker has scored in eight of his last nine games, including the opener in the defeat at the Emirates and he also notched twice against Charlton in the last round.
He looks a different player to the one who didn’t seem interested in the early weeks of the campaign and, at 13/8, there is a good chance he can score again on Wednesday.
