Who are the Carabao Cup favourites now Manchester City have been knocked out?

The Carabao Cup favourites going into this year’s competition were comfortably Manchester  City. Last year’s UEFA Champions League winners were expected to capture the only trophy  that evaded them in their remarkable 2022/23 campaign. 

However, Pep Guardiola’s hopes of winning the competition for a fifth time were halted by Newcastle United, who performed a professional counter-attacking display to upset the  Cityzens in the third round at St James’ Park. 

The competition has now been blown wide open and several teams have strong claims to  being potential winners at Wembley in February. The domestically dominant City have never  bowed out of the cup this early before, but in doing so they have awarded a number of teams  with a great chance of glory in their absence. 

Liverpool 

Liverpool are one of the teams that will be seriously eyeing silverware in the Carabao Cup  this season. Jurgen Klopp’s team went trophy-less last season and will be desperate to change  their fortunes this time around. The competition represents a huge opportunity for them to  capture the first piece of silverware that will be up for grabs this campaign. 

Liverpool began the competition as the second favourites behind their long-term rivals in  Manchester. Now that City have been knocked out, however, they’re fancied as the most  likely outright champions in 2024. A number of new betting sites in the UK offer Carabao  Cup odds including talkSPORT BET, which offers Liverpool at 7/2 to extend their record  trophy haul in the competition to 10 titles. 

The Reds began the opening two months of the league season impeccably, but it will take a  remarkable effort to keep up with City’s pace as the season goes on. The League Cup could  represent the perfect chance for Liverpool to succeed as Klopp will not have to face his long term rival, Guardiola. 

Liverpool lacks quality in depth, in some key areas such as at right back, and there are  question marks over their first-choice defensive midfield option. 

They are a team in transition, arguably unsuited to the challenge of winning a title challenge  just yet, but with their excellent attacking options from the start and off the bench, they could  have too much for any of the opposition that they face in the Carabao Cup this season. 

| Diogo Jota vs Leicester City:

• Goals – 1
• Chances Created – 3 ( )
• Big Chances Created – 1
• Shot Accuracy – 2/2
• Touches – 50
• Successful Dribbles – 3/4 ( )
• Final 3rd Passes – 3
• Accurate Crosses – 1/1
• Clearances – 1
• Interceptions –
1
• Recoveries… pic.twitter.com/bxSwFWYmvJ

— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) September 27, 2023

Players with immense technical abilities like Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota aren’t necessarily  undisputed starters in the Liverpool team – the Reds have a level of attacking firepower that  nobody else in the competition can contend with. 

Chelsea 

Chelsea began their Premier League season in disappointing form having managed to win  only once out of their first six fixtures. They undoubtedly have an immensely talented squad,  however, that simply needs time to gel before its true capabilities are shown. 

The Carabao Cup could represent the perfect stage for the Blues’ new signings to build form  and confidence, which could benefit the club across all of the endeavours throughout the  2023/24 campaign. 

In the league, there’s been huge pressure for the new signings to perform immediately, as  there’s a small margin for error in the most competitive top-flight division in the world. 

Chelsea have already fallen far behind in the race for the European qualification places, but  winning the League Cup would provide a path back into Europe for Mauricio Pochettino’s  team. 

The Argentine is evidently still unsure of his strongest tactical setup, and the cup competition  could provide the perfect environment for experimentation and significant minutes for thus  far unproven talents. 

Pochettino on Chelsea job: “It’s less than hard it was in Southampton and Tottenham, Trust me, believe me”.

“The only thing we are missing is to score goals”, Poch added. pic.twitter.com/yZPqS2D4zE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 27, 2023

Chelsea can take the tournament game-by-game, prioritising giving minutes to the players  who are struggling for form in the league. The Blues certainly have the talent to go far if they  can become a compact unit and build chemistry among the ranks. 

Manchester United and Arsenal are also huge competitors 

Liverpool and Chelsea could both utilise the competition to claim much-needed silverware.  The Reds are looking to mark their recent rebuild with a major honour, while Chelsea are 

looking to prove that their personal rebuild was somewhat of a success despite contradictory  league results. 

However, the two teams will have no straightforward path to Wembley glory. Reigning  champions Manchester United will be bidding to defend their title, but they will face a  difficult task in Newcastle in the fourth round – whom their currently dominant rivals could  not conquer. 

Arsenal could similarly to Liverpool look to take advantage of their rivals’ absence in the  latter stages of the cup this season to nail silverware themselves. Mikel Arteta’s team were  pegged back by Guardiola’s team after flirting with league success last campaign and will be  motivated to claim an honour that City are no longer in the running for. 

All of the top English clubs have huge motivations for going all of the way in the Carabao  Cup this season, and there are huge amounts of quality on display throughout all of them. 

Klopp’s team are now the favourites, but Newcastle showed against City that huge upsets are  always possible in the domestic cups. The team’s odds in the betting markets will  likely fluctuate frequently up until the winner is crowned in the eventual final next year.