Chelsea and Arsenal are getting to know plenty about each other in the month of January. They met last weekend in the Premier League, a cracker of a 2-2 draw at the Emirates that featured four goals in the last 27 minutes of play. Now, they're set to engage in battle in the EFL Cup for two legs over the course of the next two weeks, the first of which will come at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
At 3 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this EFL Cup match on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at Stamford Bridge.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chelsea -130
Arsenal +325
Draw +280
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
Defense could be the name of the game for Arsenal and Chelsea on Wednesday night. Neither team is going to want to give an inch in this home-and-home series, and both are going to have their sights set on some silverware in a year where the EPL title is already a dream that has faded away. Blowing the first leg of this competition isn't an option for either side, and neither one would be overly upset about going back to the Emirates for a gritty second affair in two weeks so long as they're in it with a shout.
Chelsea will be expected to win this match, of course. The Blues are -130 favorites and are better than 50/50 propositions to claim the advantage in the first 90 minutes of these 180 to be played.
The total is somewhat low at 2.5, though the vig on the over is set at a relatively high -130.
How They Got Here
Antonio Conte hasn't put a ton of stock in the EFL Cup, and it's hard to say whether he'll start to care with an arch rival staring him in the face in the semifinal. History will tell you that he won't.
That said, the Chelsea reserves have done just fine in this competition to date, crushing Nottingham Forest before beating Everton and Bournemouth by matching 2-1 score lines.
It has to be a bit concerning that the Blues have conceded at least one goal in each of their three matches in the EFL Cup, especially since they've yet to have to leave Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal was blessed with a fairly easy draw as well. The Gunners took care of third-division Doncaster Rovers in the opener at Emirates Stadium and followed that up by dismissing Norwich in extra time and West Ham.
Like Chelsea, Arsenal has yet to leave London in the EFL Cup.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Last season, Conte was very consistent in letting at least some of his stars rest for all of the domestic cup matches. If he didn't care all that much about the FA Cup, there is plenty of reason to believe that the EFL Cup this year is going to take a backseat, especially with the pressure to finish in the top-four still as high as it's ever been with no certainty that the goal is reached.
Still, we think goals are going to be hard to come by for both sides. Things opened up over the course of the last half hour at the Emirates last weekend, but the majority of this match was tight and gritty.
Conte will surely be stressing to his side the necessity of keeping a clean sheet, and Arsene Wenger, a veteran of these competitions for sure, wouldn't be overly upset at 0-0 or even down 1-0 heading back home in two weeks.
As a result, the under is the better play. There might not be any goals to speak of at the end of the first 90.
EFL Cup Odds: Chelsea 0, Arsenal 0
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