Arsenal and Chelsea are the favourites, but each face away ties against lower league opposition. Lewis Doe looks at each quarter-final tie.
The teams have been whittled down for the last eight of the League Cup. Here are the quarter-final ties and what to make of each.
Leeds United v Chelsea
Leeds United will be buzzing after they dumped out Southampton in a match that many expected them to lose. Home advantage is very important for Leeds because they will feel confident of beating any side when playing at Elland Road. Chelsea go into the match on the back of some revenge against Manchester United as they beat the Red Devils 5-4 at Stamford Bridge after extra time. Chelsea will be unfazed by the inevitable daunting atmosphere they are likely to experience and they will be the strong favourites.
Swansea City v Middlesbrough
Swansea City will be going into their quarter-final match genuinely believing that they can win the tournament. Swansea produced a superb display of defensive and counter attacking football to knock out Liverpool at Anfield and they will take a lot of heart from the performance. Middlesbrough have nothing to lose. They are a side that have been on the verge of promotion to the Premier League ever since they went down to the Championship. They can go to Wales, play care free attacking football and know that if they lose it’s what everyone expected in the first place.
Norwich City v Aston Villa
This tie produces a repeat of the recent Premier League clash at Villa Park. Norwich will have a confidence edge as they came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur to reach this point. They will also feel great about having the home advantage. Aston Villa are a very inconsistent team at the moment. Their league form has been up and down like a yoyo. They will take a lot from difficult away wins at Manchester City and Swindon town. Expect a cagey match similar to the 1-1 draw in the league at Villa Park.
Bradford City v Arsenal
This is a massive match for League Two side Bradford city. They will sell out their ground for the game and may as well go all out with attacking play in the hope they can cause an upset. Arsene Wenger will believe that his side deserved the luck of the draw for the way they battled through to win the match against Reading earlier in the week. Arsenal were 4-0 down and came back to win 7-5 after extra time. Arsenal will be confident but expect to see a lot of changes to the team which could limit just how much Arsenal rip Bradford apart. There is only one winner here.
image: © wonker
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