EFL (Carabao) Cup Futures 2023/24

The Carabao Cup has reached the quarter-finals with only 8 teams left in the competition. The field started with 92 teams across all of the different English leagues but now it is down to the final 8 and it is time to see who has the best chance of taking home the cup this season with focus and motivation in mind.

Liverpool +187: Liverpool is coming into the quarter-finals as the favorite to win the competition according to the books. Liverpool has the best squad out of all the teams left in the competition and they made a lot of good moves in the transfer window to improve their team as they have been competing for the title this season. They are also the team with the most EFL Cups in history as they have won this competition 9 times and have also been the runner up 4 times, the last time they won this competition being 2 seasons ago in 2022. Liverpool also has a very favorable road to the finals as they are playing against West Ham in this round and if they get past them, they will be playing the winner of Everton vs Fulham to get to the finals. Liverpool is playing in European competition this year which could be a distraction but they also have a lot of depth and are playing against much weaker teams in Europa League. The only thing hurting their chances is the way their defense has been playing this season which has been a big problem going back to last year but even with those problems, they have the strongest squad in the competition and are one of the better choices to take home the cup. 

Chelsea +333: Chelsea is coming into the quarter-finals as the team listed with the next best odds to win the competition according to the books. Chelsea has not had a great start to their season after the disaster season they had last year but they have hired a good manager for the team and fixed a lot of problems by getting rid of a lot of the players they signed. They have been starting to catch fire in their Premier League matches recently and they do have an advantage since they are not playing in any European competitions this year so they have only been playing 1 match per week and will be more focused on this competition as they have the depth as well. They also have a very favorable path to the finals since they are getting Newcastle in this round who has a laundry list of injuries to their depth and are already struggling to juggle their squad between Premier League matches and Champions League matches. If Chelsea manages to get by Newcastle in this round, then they will be playing the winner of Port Vale vs Middlesbrough to get to the finals, neither of those teams even being in the Premier League. Chelsea also has a good history in this competition as they are 5th on the all-time list with 5 cups and 4 times being runner up, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams on that list all being knocked out of the competition already as well. Chelsea has a very good chance to get to the finals with their current path there and they also have the added advantage of only having league matches to focus on. Chelsea is the best choice to win this competition this year with all things being considered.

Newcastle +350: Newcastle is coming into the quarter-finals as the team listed with the next best odds to win the competition according to the books. Newcastle has a very good team this season as they were one of the better teams in the Premier League last year but with their current situation, this is not a competition they are going to be focused on winning. Newcastle has not performed as well as last year in the Premier League with the extra matches of European competition. They are currently outside the top 4 in the league and they have not performed well in Champions League either. They have still been putting more focus toward league matches and Champions League matches though as they are trying to keep the dream alive of playing in Europe. They are also in an awful situation here as the injuries have been piling up for Newcastle and they have the talent in their starting XI to be a great team, but they also have no depth left as of right now with all of the injuries and they cannot afford to keep their starting lineup in with more important matches coming up in the league and Europe. Newcastle also has to face Chelsea in this round and it is very likely that they do not get by since they will have to rotate players and put out a much weaker squad. The FA Cup has not started yet either so there is still silverware for Newcastle to win and with their current situation, this is simply not a competition they are going to be focused on winning. Newcastle does not have a very good chance to take home the cup here. 

Everton +800: Everton is coming into the quarter-finals as the team listed with the next best odds to win the competition according to the books. Everton has not been playing well this season as they were very close to being relegated last year and they started this season playing in the same form. Recently they have come around though as they have been in much better form overall and have been playing very well against some of the better teams in the Premier League as well. They have also been playing well in this competition as they knocked out Aston Villa in one of the rounds but they still have a very tough road ahead of them. Everton is playing against Fulham in this round who is no pushover and even if they do get by, they will have to play the winner of Liverpool vs West Ham in the next round which either team will be a tough out for them. They will also have a tough challenge in the finals if they make it there and with the squad struggling to stay above the relegation zone in the league, they have bigger things to worry about than this competition. They do not have the depth to take them that far either and eventually they will run into a stronger team that knocks them out. Everton does not have a great chance of winning this competition. 

West Ham +900: West Ham is coming into the quarter-finals as the team listed with the next best odds to win the competition according to the books. West Ham is a team that has a lot of talent in their squad but they have not performed to their full potential over the last year. Last season, they were very close to the relegation zone despite being in the Europa Conference League and winning the entire competition. They have a very similar team this season but did lose a bit of talent in the transfer window and it has shown in their matches. They have still been struggling in their Premier League matches all season and because they won the Conference League last season, they are also playing in Europa League this year which is still extra matches for them to play. They are already thinner on the depth side from the transfer window and right now they have been able to manage getting to this point while also juggling league matches with Europa League matches. West Ham has not been dominating Europa League the way they dominated the Conference League though and as they get deeper into the competition, they will not be able to juggle the 3 competitions with the current depth they have. West Ham is also more focused on winning matches in Europa League so when push comes to shove, they will be more focused on Europa League matches over this competition and it will show in their lineups. West Ham does not have much of a chance to win this cup this season. 

Fulham +1200: Fulham is coming into the quarter-finals as the team listed with the next best odds to win the competition according to the books. Fulham was a middle of the table team last season and they lost a lot of key talent in the transfer window with their striker leaving the club. Their attack has not been as fluid this season which has led to goal droughts at times and they do not have a lot of depth in their squad either. They have had a pretty easy path to this round as well as they beat Tottenham at the beginning of the season in their 1st cup match played and have not faced another Premier League team since then. Fulham has also been a very inconsistent team in the Premier League despite not having any extra competitions to worry about besides this one. Their path is only going to get much harder as well and it start in this round as they take on the red hot Everton and if they manage to get past them, they will likely have to play much stronger competition in the semis and finals. This is a competition that they will likely be focused on winning and it will reflect in their lineup as well, but even with a full lineup in these matches, they do not have the talent or depth in their squad as some of the other teams they might face and eventually they will run into a much stronger team that will knock them out. Fulham could end up making a run as a dark horse but they will likely not be the team that lifts the trophy this season. 

Middlesbrough +1600, Port Vale +25000: Middlesbrough and Port Vale are the final 2 teams in the competition and they will get an honorable mention here but realistically, neither team has any chance of winning this competition. Neither of these teams play in the Premier League and the finals of this competition has been dominated by Premier League teams in recent years. Neither team has the depth nor the talent to make it to the finals and they also play each other in this round so 1 of these teams will be getting knocked out anyway before facing the winner of Chelsea vs Newcastle in the next round. Disregard these two sides as neither team has a chance to win. 

Although Fulham could end up making a run to the finals as a dark horse out of sheer focus on the competition, they still do not have the depth and talent as some of these other teams they will have to run into. Liverpool does have the best squad with the most depth to make a run to the finals and since they are playing against weaker competition in Europa League, they will be focused on getting back to the finals since they did win this competition 2 years ago. Chelsea also has the talent and depth to make a run though with the more favorable path to the finals as well and there is a very good chance that the finals will be Liverpool vs Chelsea which would be a rematch of the 2022 finals which Liverpool won. Liverpool at +187 and Chelsea at +333 are the best bets to make for teams to win this competition as those are the 2 teams with the best chance and both teams could end up in the finals leaving bettors with profit no matter who wins it.