EFL Cup Quarterfinal Preview: London Derbies headlines clashes
By David Parkes
Brentford vs Chelsea (Wednesday, 20:45)
The Brentford Community Stadium will be the venue for one of two London derbies in this quarterfinal round, with Premier League debutants Brentford hosting their more celebrated London foes.
Thomas Frank’s Bees have been a breath of fresh air in the Premier League so far. Despite going through a slight stumble, they are unbeaten in 2, while playing a very tight contest against Chelsea at the same location just two months ago. One of three teams left to have never won this trophy, a win on Wednesday evening would be another highlight in a season full of them.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are six points off the pace in the Premier League after having drawn their last two matches. With just one win in their last four, Thomas Tuchel’s men are not in the best of form. The five-time champions of the EFL Cup will have their hands full in this West London derby, yet are still going into this one as the expected winners.
Liverpool vs Leicester (Wednesday, 20:45)
A mouth-watering tie awaits at Merseyside as two teams who have a ton of football under their belts this campaign will square off.
While being 3 points behind league leaders Man. City, Liverpool have just one competitive defeat across all competitions thus far. The joint-record holders are one of three sides left to not concede to this point (the other two being West Ham and Arsenal). That being said, this will easily be their biggest test for the league cup title thus far, as Norwich and Preston North End were of little challenge for Jürgen Klopp’s men.
Consistency has been hard to come by at Leicester this season. The Foxes have dropped down to the Europa Conference League after finishing third in their Europa League group, while they are 6 points off a European place in the league having already lost 6 times there. Having seen off Millwall and Brighton to reach this stage, a fourth EFL Cup trophy would be a great confidence boost for the visitors from the East Midlands.