The last-16 games of the 2024/25 EFL Cup took place on Tuesday the 30th and Wednesday the 31st of October. There were a couple of surprises but despite that, we have an all Premier League quarter-final line-up for the first time since the 2007/08 season.
Much as this competition is often held up as a chance for “smaller” clubs to win a trophy, the reality is that it remains dominated by the same teams that are found at the top end of the Premier League. The last real shock came back in 2013 when Swansea won, beating Bradford in the lowest of low-key finals. Since then the competition has been won six times by Man City, twice each by Liverpool and Man United, and once by Chelsea.
Of that quartet, two might taste glory once more at the start of 2025, but two fell in the last 16. Let’s take a closer look at the most recent round of clashes and then the draw for the last eight.
Fourth Round Sees Surprises But No Shocks
Wags might suggest that the biggest surprise, or even a shock, was Man United winning. They didn’t just win either, but really put Leicester to the sword at Old Trafford, thrashing them 5-2. That said, those same wags might point out that with Erik ten Hag gone, it wasn’t really a surprise at all. Anyway, whilst few would have predicted the Red Devils recording such a resounding win, it remains the case that there were a number of unexpected scores.
The two games on Tuesday went to form, with Premier League Southampton getting a rare win, albeit against Stoke. They edged through 3-2 thanks to a late winner, though given their troubles in the top flight this competition could prove an unwanted distraction. The other Tuesday fixture also saw a top-tier outfit sneak past a Championship opponent, with Brentford needing penalties on home soil to make it past Sheffield Wednesday.
Villa, Brighton, Chelsea and Man City Dumped Out
For the teams currently ranked first, fourth, fifth and sixth in the Premier League (City, Villa, Chelsea and Brighton respectively) to all get knocked out on the same night would normally be indicative of some fairly big shocks. However, with City away at Spurs, Brighton facing Liverpool and Chelsea away at Newcastle, these certainly fell into the surprise, rather than shock category.
If anything, it could be said that Palace, who came into their last 16 tie with Villa 13 places and 12 points behind them, sprung the biggest cupset. However, Villa, like many, though certainly not all the sides in the competition, chose to rotate their squad and made many changes. They lost 2-1, but with the Champions League and Premier League already a huge test for their squad, boss, Unai Emer,y will not be too concerned.
Both Spurs and City also made some changes, though such is the depth both possess, even if Pep tells us injuries mean they can barely field an XI now, they both still had internationals all over the pitch. Spurs, at home, were 2-0 up inside half an hour but the game ended 2-1. Liverpool took a balanced approach to their line-up, sprinkling in a few youngsters but plenty of first-choice players too and eliminated Brighton 3-2.
Recent Scores
The one Premier League team we haven’t yet mentioned is Arsenal, who faced a trip to Preston. The score of that, and indeed all the last-16 ties, can be seen below.
- Southampton 3-2 Stoke
- Brentford 5-4 Sheffield Wednesday (on penalties, 1-1 after 90 minutes)
- Brighton 2-3 Liverpool
- Aston Villa 1-2 Crystal Palace
- Man United 5-2 Leicester
- Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea
- Preston 0-3 Arsenal
- Tottenham 2-1 Man City
Newcastle fielded one of the strongest sides of the night to get the job done at St James’s against a Chelsea team featuring almost none of their top players. Of course, that still meant they had a couple of £100m+ footballers on the pitch, in Enzo Fernandez and Joao Felix, but Newcastle, who gave Alexander Isak an hour on a goalscoring performance as he continues his return from injury, were too strong.
Arsenal probably had the most comfortable time as they swept past Championship outfit Preston. Again, the Gunners fielded a very strong XI but that is down to the strength in depth they have. The hugely impressive 17 year old, Ethan Nwaneri played, completing 98% of his passes (55 out of 56) and scoring with one of the five shots he mustered, one of those also hitting the bar. He really is one to watch.
Quarter Final Draw
The Quarter-Final draw! 🏆#EFL | #CarabaoCup
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) October 30, 2024
The draw for the last eight was made following the final match of the round and by and large has kept the big sides apart. The most glamorous tie on paper sees Man United travel to Spurs. There is a London derby as Crystal Palace head north to play Arsenal, whilst Brentford face a trip to the North East to meet Newcastle, with Liverpool facing a similarly long journey to Southampton.
Teams like Spurs and Newcastle will really be targeting this competition as it gives them a decent chance of ending their long wait for silverware. Arsenal and Liverpool may prefer to focus their energies on the Champions League and a Premier League title push, whilst Crystal Palace and the Saints are both very much mired in the relegation battle.
December 16-18, 2024
The quarter final clashes will take place during the week of the 16th of December, so we assume that means two on Tuesday the 17th and two on Wednesday the 18th. The semis are, as usual, over two legs, those being played at the start of January and then about a month later. And then there will be just two, with the date to put in your diary for the final being the 16th of March.
Following the draw, the bookies cannot separate Liverpool and Arsenal at the top of the market. Both can be backed at odds of 11/4, though on average Arsenal are a fraction shorter (across multiple bookmakers). Newcastle, Spurs and United are all hovering around the 6/1 to 8/1 mark, with bold punters thinking about a shock looking at 25/1 for either the Eagles or the Bees, or a massive 40/1 for Southampton.