Paul Higham looks at Tuesday night's Carabao Cup action as beleaguered Southampton make the first of two successive trips to Manchester City.
Recommended bets
1pt Leicester to score 3+ goals against Burton Albion at 5/4
1pt Everton/Everton in the half-time/full-time market at 13/8
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Manchester City v Southampton (1945 GMT)
What's the last thing you need after a record 9-0 defeat at home? A trip to the Etihad must be high on the list, but Southampton have to go there not once, but twice in the space of a few days in this and in the Premier League at the weekend.
When you feel the need to donate your wages to charity after a result you know it must have been bad, and you wonder whether Ralph Hasenhuttl will ring the changes or send many of those same players out to try and make amends. Either way they're huge 20/1 underdogs as whatever side Pep Guardiola puts out it'll be a good one.
City's defenders have continued to drop like flies, but at least John Stones is back and could play alongside Nicolas Otamendi unless Guardiola opts to press his youngsters into operation. Either way there's enough to suggest that through rustiness or lack of experience, the chances will be there for Saints to at least score.
With plenty of City goals expected there's no real value to be found in most of those markets, but Southampton are being totally discounted following their hammering and it may pay to back them to at least find a goal. They won't have much of the ball, but they have players who can make the most of it, and before Friday's mauling they'd scored in every game bar the opening day of the season.
They're playing for pride, and a goal will go some way to dragging an ounce of that back.
Prediction: Man City 3-1 Southampton (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Everton v Watford (1945 GMT)
The Carabao Cup is often laughed off as an afterthought, but it becomes increasingly important when you have runs of form like these two are going through - with Watford unable to win a game in the league and Everton searching for any kind of consistency.
Both of them struggle to score, with the Hornets bagging just five so far, and they're one of only four teams to have netted fewer than the Toffees in the league this season. Defensively they're both well below average as well with Watford (21) one of just three teams to have conceded more than Everton (16) so will we struggle for goals at Goodison?
It all depends on whether the bad defending on show is worse than the blunt attacking, not a great advert for quality but the harsh reality. There have been signs recently though if we look on the bright side, most notably Watford's performance at Spurs and Everton's against West Ham, but throw in a raft of changes to the line-ups and the already cloudy waters become ever more muddied.
Being at home, the onus is on Marco Silva and he's probably under more pressure right now, so expect a decent line-up for the hosts, who are strong on their own patch and have scored in eight of their last nine at Goodison (seven of those games seeing first-half goals) so we're expecting a fast start and Everton to lead early.
They should be able to make the next round, and if there's one thing they're good at this season it's converting half-time leads into full-time wins, going three-for-three in that regard, all at home. Watford have trailed five times at the break and lost four of those so the stats are there, even in a small sample size, to go into this with more than a touch of hope.
Prediction: Everton 2-0 Watford (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Best bet: Everton/Everton in the half-time/full-time market at 13/8
Burton Albion v Leicester (1945 GMT)
Burton made the semi-finals last season, but there's not much chance of them doing the same this year as this Leicester side are gunning for a top-four spot in the Premier League and should be targeting a run in both cups to supplement what could be an incredible season.
Brendan Rodgers may go with a more changed line-up similar to the one he used at Luton (a 4-0 win) in the last round than the full-strength team he put out at Newcastle, but after a 9-0 riot at Southampton everyone will be desperate to get out there and show what they can do.
Burton did put out a half-decent Bournemouth side here in the last round, but a glance at the league table tells you all you need to know about the difference between them and the Foxes, and with Leicester looking ruthless they should have too much for the home side to handle.
Twenty-one goals in the last five games for Leicester is impressive, even with nine in one match, and even with the so-called second string they have creativity, quality and, most importantly, the goals in them to bring this one home.
Prediction: Burton 1-3 Leicester (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Best bet: Leicester to score 3+ goals against Burton Albion at 5/4
Odds correct as of 1801 GMT on 28/01/19
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