Weekend Tips: EFL Cup final, Premier League action and a Spanish showdown...

This weekend sees Liverpool and Chelsea face off in the EFL Cup final. In the Premier League, West Ham and Wolves do battle in a real six pointer, while Manchester United will be looking to pick up some valuable points against Watford. And in Spain, Barcelone take on Athletic Bilbao in La Liga action.

Chelsea and Liverpool do battle for the first significant piece of domestic silverware on Sunday when they meet in the Carabao Cup final.

In midweek a rampant Liverpool closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to three points after cruising to a sixth Premier League win on the spin at Leeds.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both scored twice as hapless Leeds were crushed 6-0 at Anfield, and the bookies were quick to react with Liverpool now 13/10 favourites to beat Chelsea this weekend.

If you fancy Thomas Tuchel’s side to win in 90 minutes you can get 5/2 and Chelsea will head into Sunday's showpiece high on confidence after defeating Lille 2-0 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash on Tuesday.

It’s likely that Kai Havertz – who seems to thrive under the pressure of these type of big games – will get the nod over Romelu Lukaku. The Belgium came in for some merciless stick recently after touching the ball just seven times in 90 minutes (a Premier League record low for touches) during Chelsea’s win at Crystal Palace. The fact that one of the ball boys on the day touched the ball eight times did not help Lukaku, who joined Chelsea for an eye-watering £97.5million last August.

Chelsea will have their backers this weekend but on current form it’s difficult to look beyond a Liverpool side who are oozing confidence at the minute and scoring goals by the bagful. These teams drew a breathless encounter at Stamford Bridge 2-2 at the start of the year, but preference here is for Jurgen Klopp’s men to make a statement of intent.

The last two League Cup finals involving Liverpool have been decided by penalties but there is compelling evidence to suggest they are a punt this weekend to win this in 90 minutes. 

 The Nap – Liverpool to win in 90 minutes at 13/10 (Betfred/Hills/Skybet)

 

Anyone who has watched West Ham United in recent weeks will be scratching their heads as to why some firms have them as short as even money shots to beat Wolves on Sunday.

Moyes was annoyed by a lacklustre collective display last time out as the Hammers drew 1-1 with Newcastle, and that followed hot on the heels of listless performances against the likes of Leeds, Kidderminster and Watford.

In fact, the Londoners have managed just one win in 90 minutes in their last six outings so it’s a shock to see Wolves as big as 3/1 in places to win Sunday’s encounter. 

It doesn’t hurt to know either that of all the teams they have played more than six times in the competition, West Ham are the team Wolves have the best win rate against (55% - Won 6 Drew 1 Lost 4).

Wolves are really consistent. The work that Bruno Lage (who has been a breath of fresh air this season) and the coaching staff are doing at Molineux is exceptional. They are well drilled and organised and prior to Thursday’s game against Arsenal were conceding on average just 0.8 goals per game in the Premier League. Given West Ham’s recent struggles, 3/1 is quite the price.

Value Tip – Wolves to beat West Ham at 3/1 (Boylesports/Unibet)

 

Watford’s 4-1 win over Manchester United earlier this season proved a defeat too far for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who lost his job at Old Trafford soon after. The Hornets take on Manchester United again this weekend and revenge is in the air.

Looking at the first goal-scorer prices on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo understandably dominates the market. However, current 7/1 quotes available on Anthony Elanga to score first are surely worth considering. Elanga's emergence has been an obvious high point in a troubled season for United fans. His crucial equaliser with virtually his first touch in Wednesday's first leg Champions League last-16 draw at Atletico Madrid has given Manchester United a foot in the quarter-finals.

If he starts against lowly Watford – who were blitzed in midweek by Crystal Palace – he could also have revenge in mind for his former boss, as it was Solskjaer who gave the Sweden Under-21 striker his debut last season.

All Elanga’s senior goals for the Red Devils so far have come away from home but it’s surely just a matter of time before he gets off the mark at Old Trafford. And if Ralf Rangnick keeps the faith and starts him against Watford you would fancy him to do some damage against a Hornets defence that are leaking goals.

First Goal Flutter – Elanga to score first at 7/1 (bet365)

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged a hat-trick for Barcelona against Valencia recently and in doing so became the first player to score hat-tricks in England, France, Germany and Spain in the 21st century. He may now be 32 but Aubameyang proved against Los Che there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle.

At long last it looks like the pieces could be falling into place for Barca, with that 4-1 win over Valencia stretching their unbeaten run to five matches. The last team to beat them – Athletic Bilbao – head to the Camp Nou on Sunday in a game that should feature goals.

It’s a big test for Xavi and the boys as Bilbao looked brilliant themselves last time out as they blasted to a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad. Both teams like to get forward in numbers and with both in confident mood, a punt on ‘Over 3.5’ goals could be the way to go in Catalonia.

The Euro Banker – Over 3.5 goals in Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao game at 23/10 (Betfair/Paddy Power)