ROSS CASEY (@RossCasey24) runs the rule over Wednesday night's live EFL Cup encounter between Chelsea and Derby as Frank Lampard returns to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea v Derby | Wednesday 31 October 2018, 19:45 | Sky Sports
The EFL Cup has reached the Last 16 and this fourth-round fixture has thrown up the interesting sight of former Chelsea legend Frank Lampard in the dugout at Stamford Bridge with his Derby side.
Chelsea have already dumped Liverpool out of this competition thanks to an Eden Hazard inspired 2-1 win at Anfield, where they played a strong side. I expect them to do the same here and considering they are unbeaten in 14 matches this season, discounting their Community Shield defeat which is essentially a friendly.
Maurizio Sarri’s side are as short as 2/7 to win, which is a very short price, but on current form it is probably a fair representation of value.
Derby have already won three matches in this competition – all on the road – and against different standard of opposition. They have defeated League One outfit Oldham, Championship club Hull and Premier League heavyweights Man Utd en-route to the Last 16.
Derby are big underdogs though with the best price you can grab from the bookies being 12/1 with Unibet. That is a smaller price than the 16/1 that was available for them at Old Trafford however, which seems mad as Chelsea are in better form than the Red Devils.
Chelsea
As already mentioned, Chelsea have not lost any of their last 14 matches across all competitions and are in great form on home soil in particular. They have scored in all seven games at Stamford Bridge, netting 16 goals in total. That’s an average of 2.28 per-game.
Chelsea to score 2+ goals is 1/3, which isn’t much to write home about though. They have netted 12 times in their last four games though, so confidence is high and Chelsea to win and Over 2.5 Goals does appeal at 3/4.
However, when you look at the fact Edin Hazard, Pedro and Olivier Giroud are out of this match, you will see that 11 goals this season are missing from the Chelsea side.
For that reason, Alvaro Morata will surely get the nod up front and looks a decent shout at evens (Betfair) to score, especially as Chelsea have scored in each of their past 22 matches against Derby.
Derby
It was a bit of a surprise when I heard that Derby have been granted permission by Chelsea to select on-loan pair Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori. Both have been very impressive so far for their new side this season and it will be a big talking point if they play a big role in knocking out their side.
With the attacking threat of Chelsea heavily hit through illness and injury, the Rams will be looking to upset the odds once again. They are very threatening on the counter attack and with Chelsea keeping only two home clean sheets in all competitions, and Derby scoring in all but two of their away games, Both Teams To Score also appeals at 68/67 with 188BET.
Best Bets
Chelsea v Derby – Both Teams To Score (68/67 188BET)
Chelsea v Derby – Alvaro Morata to score at anytime (1/1 Betfair)
