The England EFL Cup is one of two in-season tournaments played in English Soccer. It takes teams from the top four leagues in the country, Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two, placing them into a tournament. The tournament creates soccer betting opportunities during the middle of the week that otherwise would not be there.
Unlike league games that tend to be played on the weekends, the EFL Cup is played on weekdays. On top of that, the tournament is seven rounds of single-game elimination, except for the semi-finals, with the teams getting a home and away match.
Due to sponsorship rights, the EFL Cup has changed its name to the Carabao Cup, but the history and format have not changed since being created in 1960. The top teams from the Premier League do not join the tournament till after the first two rounds, allowing the lower-level clubs an easier chance of staying alive.
Almost every year, soccer odds favor one of the top teams from the Premier League to win the EFL Cup, and recent tournament history backs that up. Liverpool has won the EFL Cup nine times since the tournament’s creation, most recently in 2022. Furthermore, Manchester City has had an incredible run of form in the tournament recently, winning six times between 2014 and 2021. Finally, the most recent winner of the Carabao Cup was Manchester United, who lifted the trophy for the sixth time in 2023.
However, despite all that, the tournament does allow smaller clubs a chance in soccer lines to win the EFL Cup. In 2011, Birmingham City lifted the trophy, and then in 2013, Swansea City did so for the first time. There are years when the top teams struggle or are focused more on the Premier League and European play, allowing the smaller clubs to succeed. Plus, the top teams could eliminate each other, clearing the path for lower-league clubs.
Still, more often than not, the top clubs tend to be the favorite. When betting on the EFL Cup, you can go game-by-game or pick an outright tournament winner. Those outright betting lines are created based on the chances of a club winning the whole tournament. As history has shown, the best option is usually one of the top teams from the Premier League. It can also help if the club is not involved in European tournaments, allowing them to focus more on the Carabao Cup.
For the 2023-24 EFL tournament, the soccer betting favorite is nine-time winner Liverpool. While the club competes in European play this season, it is not the Champions League, allowing them to focus more on domestic trophies. The two favorites behind Liverpool are the reigning champions, Manchester United, and one of the best teams in England, Arsenal.
All three clubs are some of the best in England, but the underdogs that could be interesting are Newcastle and West Ham. They are both clubs in the Premier League and have the talent to potentially unseat one of the top teams, given the opportunity.
