Capital One Cup: Toffees target revival in Canaries clash
Published:
Lee Gormley | October 27, 2015
Everton v Norwich City
- Capital One Cup
- Tuesday, October 27th
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- Goodison Park, Liverpool
Toffees tackle Canaries on Merseyside
Roberto Martinez’s Everton will look to overturn a poor run of domestic form when they host top-flight rivals Norwich City in their Capital One Cup tie at Goodison Park, but will be confident having not lost on home soil to the Canaries since 1993.
The stuttering Toffees conceded two goals in as many minutes against Arsenal in their previous Premier League defeat, after also being overcome by Manchester United beforehand.
Martinez’s Merseysiders are 17/4 to face another loss at the hands of Alex Neil’s Norwich on home turf, but England international attacker Ross Barkley has called for his teammates to come flying out the blocks in midweek.
Barkley wants swift Everton revival
Barkley was on target in the defeat to Arsenal and was previously on a positive goal scoring streak for his country too, but the playmaker has urged his side to remain calm and bounce back from this early-season blip.
“We got a goal back and in the second-half [against Arsenal] I thought we were unfortunate not to get another one back to get a draw out of the game,” stated Barkley.
“In any game, when it’s like that, you have still got to give it our all and try and get something back, like we did at West Brom, but it wasn’t our day on Saturday.
“But we have got to stay positive because we’ve got a cup game on Tuesday and then Sunderland at the weekend.”
Toffees targeting cup triumph
Asked if Everton can actually go all the way in the Capital One Cup this campaign, Barkley replied: “That’s our aim.
“We haven’t won anything for a while and we’ve had a couple of good results in the competition so far and hopefully we get the result against Norwich that will put us through to the next round.
“It’s about getting it going on Tuesday night, getting the crowd behind us and our focus is going into that game lively. We want to get a few goals and give ourselves a bit of confidence.”
The determined England starlet is 2/1 to strike anytime in 90 minutes on home soil, while in-form Canaries frontman Cameron Jerome is 7/1 to open proceedings after a solid start to the season.
Republic of Ireland international Wes Hoolahan has been key to any success for Norwich so far this term and the Dubliner is 11/2 to continue his sublime form with another strike in normal time in this cup clash.
Hull City v Leicester City
- Capital One Cup
- Tuesday, October 27th
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- The KC Stadium, Hull
Hull hold hope of maiden quarter-final
Championship club Hull City are aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup for the first time ever in their history when they host Premier League high-flyers Leicester City, but have only toppled the Foxes once since March 2008.
Steve Bruce’s Tigers are 17/10 to triumph in 90 minutes, while Leicester are 11/8 to secure victory and remain on course for a potential fourth-ever League Cup crown, with Italian boss Claudio Ranieri having so far worked wonders since taking charge.
The Foxes currently sit comfortably in fifth-place of the top tier, while Hull battle it out in joint-second position of the Championship, as they aim to bounce back to the Premier League this season.
Hull are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions, but have won just two of their previous 10 home League Cup clashes against top division sides, conceding 25 goals in total and making Leicester 19/5 to win to nil in 90 minutes.
Ranieri ready to make changes
Ranieri previously made 10 changes for the eventual extra-time win over West Ham United in the previous round and has admitted that he will make wholesale switches yet again this time out.
The 64-year-old Italian has already declared that the Premier League’s leading marksman Jamie Vardy will sit out this clash, despite netting 10 times domestically.
“I’ll change a lot, like the other cup matches,” stated the former Chelsea coach. “I have a very good group and they deserve to play and I’ll change everyone, more or less.”
Such changes means Gokhan Inler, Shinji Okazaki, Andrej Kramaric and Mark Schwarzer may start for the visitors, but Hull boss Bruce is facing some injury headaches and may be forced to make team alterations.
Tigers hold injury concerns
The boss’ son Alex Bruce may miss out through injury, while Sone Aluko could also be a key absentee, after both picked up knocks in their last Championship outing. Mohamed Diame, Shaun Maloney and Tom Huddlestone could all start the game, but Curtis Davies, Robert Snodgrass and Adama Diomande are also out with injuries.
Foxes midfielder Riyad Mahrez struck the winner when these sides last met in Hull, in a heated encounter which also saw two late red cards, and he is 7/4 to net anytime again, while Hull frontman Abel Hernandez is 13/2 to open proceedings in home surroundings.
Related
Read our Everton archive
See who else is in Capital One Cup action this week
Coral’s top tip: Ross Barkley to score anytime in 90 minutes @ 2/1
