Top 3 bets from tonight's EFL Cup football + racing

Are Manchester City playing in the EFL Cup 4^th round tonight?

City go to West Ham tonight in a competition they last lost in more than five years ago! Pep Guardiola’s side have won this tournament in each of the past four years, and in six of the last eight, so anyone thinking they might not take this tie seriously and might have bigger fish to fry is underestimating City’s determination to win everything. Both managers are set to ring the changes, but City’s strength in depth will be shown by the quality of some of their peripheral players. Riyad Mahrez is one such player. He was man of the match in last year’s final, and scored two as City smashed Wycombe 6-1 in the last round, yet is regularly left out of the Premier League and Champions League starting line-ups. Mahrez will be one of a number of players on both sides determined to impress tonight and win a place in the regular XI.

Total Goal Minutes (150-160)

The London Stadium is one of Manchester City’s favourite away grounds judging by the level of performance there over the years. Before last season’s 1-1 draw, City won 5-0, 4-0, 4-1 and 5-0 on their four previous league and Cup visits. We’ve seen buying in various City scoring markets, but with the Hammers enjoying a decent season themselves, and plenty of players previously side-lined looking to catch David Moyes’s eye, anyone expecting goals might consider including the Hammers, and buying Total Goal Minutes. City fans would point to their stellar defensive record this season, though Wycombe did open the scoring in the last round…. before conceding six.

Burnley v Tottenham

Spreadex-sponsored Burnley face Tottenham in the EFL Cup tonight for the first time since their heart-breaking semi-final defeat in 2009. The Clarets had lost the away leg 4-1 12 years ago, and looked all but out, but on a memorable night, they hammered Spurs 3-0 thanks to goals from Robbie Blake, Chris McCann and Jay Rodriguez to send the tie to extra-time. Unfortunately, that’s where the fairy-take ended, with Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe scoring twice in the last three minutes of the extra period. Sean Dyche has hinted he’ll make some changes but still name a strong team tonight, and could well give Rodriguez the chance to gain some revenge. The now veteran striker is Burnley’s all-time top-scorer in the EFL Cup with 12, having scored 4 in the last round against Rochdale.

Headed Goal Minutes 26-29

Rodriguez scored two headers in the last round against Rochdale, and whether it’s the prospect of him repeating that, or punters having seen how poorly Spurs defended the corner West Ham scored from at the weekend, we’ve seen some buying of Headed Goal Minutes. Skipper Ben Mee, always a danger from set pieces, is back in contention after a period of self-isolation too. Presumably after the shambolic defending of set pieces against the Hammers, that has been the focus of Nuno Espirito Santos’s work on the training ground, but buyers of Headed Goal Minutes will be hoping for a repeat showing.

There’s plenty more football action tonight, with Preston against Liverpool, Leicester v Brighton and Stoke against Brentford in the EFL Cup, and Barcelona and Real Madrid both in action in La Liga while Juventus v Sassulo is among a number of Serie A games. There will be high emotions at Ibrox, where Rangers play Aberdeen two days after the passing of legendary manager Walter Smith, and Celtic go to Hibs on a full night of SPL action.

Is there any horse racing action this evening?

Away from football, the pick of the racing is at Kempton, where there is an 8-race card. The opener is at 4.40 and the final race is the 8.15. Oisin Murphy will be in action as he looks to continue the form that saw him crowed the champion jockey for the 3^rd straight year.

Jockey Performance: Richard Kingscote 43-46

Kingscote isn’t in action until the 3^rd race of the night, when he’s on 6/4 2^nd favourite Substantial. In the next he rides Evens favourite Under The Twilight before another 2^nd favourite, 3/1 shot Proclaimer, in the 6.45. He sits out the next race, but is on 7/1 outsider Liberated Lad in the penultimate race and 20/1 rank outsider Clearance in the last. Murphy was due to have five runners at Kempton, but he already has a non-runner in Marching Army in the 7.15. The Jockey Performance index awards 25/10/5 for any 1^st/2^nd/3^rd finish. In terms of the Jockey Performance market, Murphy is given 5 points for that non runner and both he and Kingscote have very similar spreads. Who will perform best tonight?