The Carabao Cup or the EFL Cup is a major domestic title in England, along with the FA Cup and the Premier League. It is a unique club competition that has been held every season since its inception in 1960. Apart from bestowing the winner with the trophy, the Carabao Cup can also guarantee a spot in next season’s Europa League.

So without further ado, let’s dig deep into the history, odds and tips of the Carabao Cup.

Carabao Cup - A Thrilling Domestic Cup

The Carabao Cup managed to make its way to the top of club competitions, thanks to the leading mix of fixtures that it released. With clubs from different leagues of English football being a part of the action, the domestic cup is one of the best to watch if you want to see teams from lower divisions dominate their higher opponents. 

While its name comes from its sponsor, the Cup is also known as EFL Cup and Manchester City is the current holder of the same. The Citizens of Manchester have won the trophy for four straight seasons.

Carabao Cup - How Does it Operate

The Carabao Cup operates by inviting 92 different clubs from four divisions of English football. The number of teams from their respective divisions is mentioned below:

• Premier League - 20 teams
• Championship - 22 teams
• League One - 24 teams
• League Two - 24 teams 

While clubs begin their games from round one, Premier League teams begin their fixtures from the second round and clubs which are involved in European competitions will begin their schedule from the third round. It is played in a straight single-game knockout format with semi-finals being stretched over a two-leg aggregate goal affair. 

In its 61-year-old run, the Carabao Cup has been handed over to Manchester City and Liverpool the most. Both teams, who are known to promote bettors to make a compelling betting strategy have won the title a total of 8 times each. While a majority of the titles were won by Premier League clubs, Sheffield Wednesday stands out as an exception as they won it in 1991. 

Major Carabao Cup Upsets

As mentioned earlier, the mixture of clubs from different leagues makes the Carabao Cup exciting and at times, a ground for shocking defeats. While Premier League clubs are always touted to boss around and win the show, there are specific defeats that even the biggest clubs couldn't avoid.

• Manchester United - York City (0-3) 1995

If online betting was as famous in 1995 as it is now, anyone being part of the action would have picked a team composed of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Simon Davies, Phill Neville and co without even looking at their opponents. However, their opponents, York City, a third-tier football club, were the dominant side as they put Manchester United to shame. 

• Bradford - Arsenal (1-1) 3-2 pens - 2012

Another shocking defeat in the Carabao Cup came in 2012 when Bradford City broke the hearts of gunners when their league cup final run included a surprise game against Arsenal. With Arsenal failing to get the ball past goalkeeper Matt Duke, the gunners had to settle for a draw and then look to push forward through penalties. However, it was Bradford city who had the last laugh.

• Notts County - Tottenham Hotspur (3-0) 1994

Spurs were a dominant side in 1994. This is why their game against Notts County turned out to be a shocker. They had to face a horrible game against Notts County where they did not score and also conceded three goals. Hence, a minute’s silence needs to be followed for the ones who considered football betting and chose Spurs as their winning team for this game.

The Odds & the Carabao Cup

Odds are an important part of every competition especially when you consider placing bets. So if a competition like the Carabao Cup seems like the perfect opportunity to place bets, you need to understand the odds and what it means.

• What are sports odds?

While sports odds are displayed in different formats, they mean the same thing or they try to indicate the same outcome. In all essence, it singles out a probability of an outcome and how much money you could win by betting on the same. For example, let’s consider fractional odds. 

Let’s say there’s a game between Liverpool and Northampton in the Carabao Cup. With the Reds expected to win, the odds are bound to favour them over their opponents. So if Liverpool receives odds like 5/2 and Northampton receives odds like 50/1, then it is quite clear that the Reds are favoured to win.

While the number on the left side indicates how many times bookies expect a specific outcome to fail, the number on the right shows how many times it is expected to succeed. Since Liverpool’s odds showcase that the outcome in which they win is more than Northampton’s, they are clear favourites to win the game. 

• Types of odds

While sports betting in the UK relies on fractional odds, other countries follow different practices and thus, it is important to know the different types of odds.

a. American Odds

American odds are displayed as either -130 or +120. The symbols ‘+’ & ‘-’ indicate favourites and underdogs respectively. While a negative number indicates how much you would need to bet to win £100, a positive number refers to the amount that you will win if you bet £100. 

b. Decimal Odds

Decimal odds tend to represent an amount that you will win for every £1 that has been wagered. It represents the total payout that one can receive upon choosing to place money on the given odds. For example, if £2.4 is the odds for a team to win and you place £50 on the game, you will receive £120 if the outcome becomes true. 

c. Fractional Odds

These are the odds that are most commonly followed in England and represent an easy way to place bets. You can use fractional odds to place bets on different kinds of games, be it English or American football.

Tips for Betting in the Carabao Cup

• If you want to place bets on the Carabao Cup, you must follow all the fixtures and games that are played at different periods. 
• While games can end up with surprising results, they need not happen all the time. So be aware that you are taking a small risk.
• While financial risk comes with betting, it is important to control its risk by practising a responsible way to gamble.
• Responsible gambling indicates a system where you try to minimise errors and control an aggressive behaviour that goes behind chasing losses by placing double bets.