[Football- England 'EFL Cup'] 19.12/ 20:45 Port Vale- Middlesbrough

[Fazio]

[Football- England 'EFL Cup'] 19.12/ 20:45 Port Vale- Middlesbrough

Back to football today and it is the EFL Cup Quarter Finals. Neither team would have expected to make it this far and this provides a huge opportunity for either team to make a semi final. Ultimately I feel the difference in ability will shine through, Port Vale are currently sat in 15th place in League 1 with a 7-4-9 record from 18 goals scored and 29 conceded. They are not having a good season and the cup run has not been representative of their form shown throughout the rest of the year. They finished 18th the previous season and that's essentially what they are, a lower half League One team.

Middlesbrough play in the Championship which is a division higher than Port Vale, they are currently 13th with a 9-3-10 record having both scored and conceded 34 goals this season. Middlesbrough had an awful start to the season picking up just 2 points from their opening 7 games. However in the 15 games since they sit 5th in the form table with a record of 9-1-5, scoring 29 and conceding 20. Truly I think their actual place is somewhere in-between. Last season they finished in 4th and lost in the Play Off Semi Finals, they would have been hoping for another top 6 finish this year but I'm not sure they will quite have enough to push for one, I see them probably finishing in the 12th-8th range.

Neither team have taken out any notable scalps along the way, Middlesbrough beat Huddersfield, Bolton, Bradford and Exeter all in away games, so the task of going away to a lower league team isn't likely to be one that daunts them. Port Vale have beaten Fleetwood, Crewe, Sutton and Mansfield. Three teams from League Two and Fleetwood who are in the League One relegation side. Middlesbrough will be a significant step up in quality compared to the rest of their run.

You do have to worry about rotation in the EFL Cup but either side would be crazy to rotate for this and potentially throw away the chance at a Semi Final. I think both teams come in full strength and both teams realise how great of an opportunity this is, therefore I am simply picking the team with higher quality players available to them to come through with the win.

2 @1,85 Bet365

FT 0:3