Mourinho has third League Cup in his sights as draw is made

The balls have been bagged and the draw has been made for the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup. Below is a swift preview of the last-eight fixtures with the outright odds noted aside each team.

Tottenham (7/2) v West Ham (20/1)

Spurs supporters have been gifted a dream draw against bitter rivals West Ham at White Hart Lane whilst also giving Andre Villas Boas’ side an unexpected opportunity to avenge their 3-0 defeat to the Hammers in the Premier League.

Despite their manager’s complaints, Tottenham have never been better placed to compete on several fronts and it looks a daunting task for Sam Allardyce’s team with a semi-final the prize at stake. Before that surprise reverse in the league the Irons had only won once in their last 15 fixtures against Spurs and AVB has already shown his intent in all competitions this term.

Sunderland (33/1) or Southampton (16/1) v Chelsea (3/1)

Chelsea await to see whether they will travel to either Sunderland or Southampton for their quarter-final after progressing through the most difficult draw of the last round against table-topping Arsenal.

Jose Mourinho’s team demonstrated what their beaten opponents lack at the Emirates, being able to rest and replace world class talent whilst Arsene Wenger was left to rely on the likes of Nicklas Bendter and Ryo Miyaichi. Mourinho will probably not mind which team he faces considering the Blues’ collective form and the personal reinvigoration of Fernando Torres, and with the Portugese coach having won the competition in consecutive years in his first period in charge of the club there is no doubt that a third trophy is on his mind.

Leicester City (40/1) v Manchester City (11/4)

Leicester have been rewarded for their heroics against Premier League Fulham with a home draw against two-time winners of this competition Manchester City.

The last of those wins came all the way back in 1976, however, and with City showing considerable frailties on the road this season – they have already lost to Cardiff, Aston Villa and Chelsea in the league this term – Nigel Pearson’s side will be confident of sending another top-flight side crashing out and going one step closer in their attempt to win lift the cup for the fourth time in their history.

Stoke City (28/1) v Manchester United (7/2)

Three wins in a week have changed the mood surrounding Manchester United and manager David Moyes and they will be confident of inflicting a second defeat on Stoke this season.

When the teams met at Old Trafford in the League it took a comeback reminiscent of the Ferguson era to salvage the day and claim three points and Rooney and co will be determined to reach the semi-finals without putting their under-fire boss under so much duress again. United won the last of their four League Cups in the 2009-10 season and with so much concern shadowing the club in their new guise there will be little chance that Moyes will not take every measure to ensure he can pick up his first piece of silverware as a coach.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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