West Ham is Wednesday's TV game in the Carabao Cup but our Andy Schooler feels the best bets come in Chelsea v Everton.
Tottenham v West Ham (2000 BST, Sky Sports Football & Main Event)
Ronald Koeman’s sacking on Monday will have reminded Slaven Bilic about the sticky situation he and his team currently find themselves in.
Everton’s troubles are well documented but the Hammers are only above them in the Premier League on goal difference and Friday’s display against Brighton gave little hope that they are about to a turn a corner.
However, what Bilic can’t really afford is to sacrifice this game in favour of the weekend’s trip to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace.
A second defeat of the season to their biggest rivals will only worsen his situation, while a victory would give him some much needed credit in the bank, even if this is ‘only’ the Carabao Cup.
Bilic has found himself in tight situations before at West Ham, notably during last season, but he’s often found a way out and this game provides an opportunity for his side to deliver a response and have a real go at Wembley.
With their Champions League campaign resuming next week, Spurs won’t be at full strength here. It looks a good night for Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen to take some time off.
A barb that has been thrown at Tottenham in recent times is that while their first XI is right up there with the very best in the Premier League, those below are not of the standard at other clubs.
While I don’t fully subscribe to that, they certainly did struggle a bit when changes were made against Barnsley in the last round with the Championship side a tad unfortunate not to at last take the tie to extra time (they lost 1-0).
West Ham are available in the double-chance market here at 9/5 and I can’t help but feel that’s a tad big.
Without confirmed team news, it’s a bit of a minefield but changes are almost certain from the hosts and the derby atmosphere should pull the fight out of the West Ham players.
Prediction: Spurs 2-1 West Ham (aet)
Chelsea v Everton (1945 BST)
Can a new broom clean up the mess left behind by Ronald Koeman? That’s certainly what caretaker David Unsworth will be looking to do.
Chelsea’s recent form will give him hope of getting an immediate result too – the Londoners have won just one of their last four and were somewhat fortunate to claim that; Watford will still be kicking themselves about not scoring more when on top in what turned out to be a 4-2 defeat.
That result saw Chelsea’s goals-conceded tally in the last three games reach seven and one thing I think you can expect from Unsworth is for him to set the team up to have a go.
Expect pace to be added to the team where possible – it would be no surprise to see Kevin Mirallas start, maybe alongside Ademola Lookman - and it seems highly likely that record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson will now get to play in his favoured more central role. That will set them up to hit Chelsea on the break when possible.
However, the fact remains this is a side which has won just two of its last 13 games and while Unsowrth will be able to make quick changes going forward, it seems unlikely he’ll be able to do much about a shaky defence given he’s had just the one training session with the first team ahead of this game.
Everton have been poor at the back all season with Ashley Williams one of the biggest culprits. A defender by trade, Unsworth may well be able to drill the backline better if given a longer period in charge but it’s a big ask to change anything straight away.
With this in mind, I like both teams to score here at 19/20. Despite Everton’s problems, it’s something which has happened in five of their last six, while four of Chelsea’s last five have delivered too (the odd one out being that they failed to score against Manchester City).
Michy Batshuayi looks the man Everton will most fear. His last six club appearances have been three starts and three from the bench but he’s still managed to score seven times.
A hat-trick came when he started in the last round of this competition at home to Nottingham Forest, while he was a real game-changer on Saturday when his two late goals did for Watford.
Yes, you can argue that the Belgian has made a bigger impact coming off the bench but odds-against quotes about him scoring against this shaky defence looks perfectly fair.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Everton
Recommended bets
2pts both teams to score in Chelsea v Everton at 19/20
2pts Michy Batshuayi to score at any time v Everton at 8/7
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Posted at 1635 BST on 24/10/17.
