Cody Gakpo can open the scoring and send Liverpool into the Carabao Cup semi-finals
Southampton begin life without Russell Martin at the helm when they turn their attentions away from their struggles at the bottom of the Premier League table to their attempt to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The only problem is, after getting torn apart by Tottenham they now have to face Liverpool, who are flying high despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.
Saints’ search for a new manager will be an interesting one as whoever takes chargefaces an impossible task to prevent them making an immediate return to the Championship after beating Leeds United in the play-off final at Wembley at the end of last season.
Most of the usual suspects will give the job a hard swerve as promotion from the second tier in English football is a difficult one to navigate and Luton, who were unfortunate not to stay in the top flight last term, are closer to dropping into League One than vaulting straight back into the promised land.
Martin paid the price for being too successful too soon and then failing to budge from his principles when they clearly weren’t working at the highest level. His dismissal was on the cards for some time despite the Southampton board giving him a long leash.
St Mary’s Stadium emptied at an astonishing rate once Tottenham went 3-0 up in 14 minutes on Sunday and it is ironic that Martin was fired after losing heavily to a side managed by Ange Postecoglou, who is similarly adamant that it is his way or the highway in terms of football philosophies.
When it boils down to it, the Spurs boss has vastly superior players at his disposal who can make Angeball work and Martin will have to wait to bounce back once he is given another chance at a lower level.
Liverpool’s top scorer in the league this season is Mohamed Salah but their hero along the road to lifting silverware in this competition for an 11th time has been consistent scorer Cody Gakpo, who has four goals from just two games, and he is 6/1 with Paddy Power to break the deadlock and 43/20 with Unibet and BetMGM to score at any time.
Liverpool won 3-2 in the league on a miserable day on the south coast last month during one of the many storms to sweep the country and over 5.5 goals this time is 6/1 with the latter two firms.
Saliba can halt Eagles cup run
Arsenal are reliant on set pieces to score at the moment and may have their work cut out to beat Crystal Palace in their Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Emirates.
But while the Eagles have picked up form in recent weeks, they lack the depth to heavily rotate and enjoy success so back the Gunners at 23/20 with Betway to lead HT/FT while William Saliba is 33/1 with bet365 to open the scoring and 14/1 with the same firm to find the net at any time.
Brentford’s away form is shocking so it will pay to put money on a Newcastle side buoyed by their 4-0 win at home to listless Leicester to lead HT/FT at 11/8 with bet365 and Sky Bet in their last-eight tie. Alexander Isak is 7/2 with William Hill and numerous other firms to score the first goal.
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