We have plenty of League Cup action in the UK tonight and I've picked out 5 of the fixtures on offer in my search for my favourite goal bets. The English version of the competition was pretty exciting last season with 50 goals scored in 16 third round ties with 12 of those games seeing more than 2.5 goals so I expect we could see plenty of exciting games this evening. Team-news will be vital with most sides making changes to the starting 11's although the Birmingham derby, a tie that I have picked out, will probably see both going with their best teams, given the importance of local pride in that fixture. I'll take a further look at some of the other ties on offer later today but for now, I have 3 games from England and Rangers home tie with St Johnstone included in my selections tonight. Here are my "Key Facts" and "Suggested Bets" for the best of the League Cup action. League Cup
19.45 Aston Villa v Birmingham - Prediction 1.2- Suggested Bets - BTTS @ 5/6, Birmingham or draw @5/6 , Birmingham to win @3/1 Key Facts * Villa have lost 3 of their last 4 at home and 8 of last 12 * Villa have also lost 6 of their last 8 and have only 1 win in 6 league fixtures * Villa have failed to win any of their last 3 home league cup ties * Villa are without midfielder Idrissa Gueye Jores Okore and Adama Traore are also expected to be sidelined but former Blackburn striker Rudy Gestede could start. * Birmingham have lost only 1 in 7 Championship fixtures this season * Birmingham are unbeaten in 5 away fixtures * Birmingham have lost just 1 of their last 10 in the Championship * Birmingham have scored in 12 of their last 15 away fixtures, scoring 21 in those 12 games * Birmingham have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 10 fixtures * Viilla have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 9 Home fixtures and in 4 of their last 5 overall * 5 of the last 8 meetings between these 2 sides have seen BTTS * Birmingham are unbeaten in 3 meetings with Villa Final Verdict This local derby is sure to be one of the most fiercely contested fixtures of the evening with an out of form Villa welcoming an in-form Birmingham to Villa Park. I fancy a bit of an upset here with Birmingham having nothing to lose and Villa struggling for form and under big pressure to get a win here. I fancy the away side to win but the draw or win option @5/6 looks safer. I'm also predicting goals but I have more faith in the Birmingham selection. This should be one contest where we can expect full strength teams and I also expect something of a battle with this the first meeting of these two rivals in 4 years. 19:45 Fulham vs Stoke - Prediction -3.2 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @ 4/5, BTTS and over 2.5 goals @ 13/10, Fulham to win @11/5 Key Facts * Fulham have seen BTTS in 8 of their last 9 home fixtures * Fulham have seen BTTS in 13 of their last 15 league fixtures and in each of their last 9 * Fulham have scored in 17 of their last 18 home fixtures * Fulham have only 1 clean sheet in their last 15 home league fixtures * They have also seen BTTS and over 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 9 at home in the league and 7 in of their last 9 overall * Fulham have lost only 1 of their last 7 home fixtures * Stoke have failed to win any of their last 9 away competitive fixtures * Stoke have seen BTTS in 4 of their last 7 on the road in the PL * Stoke have scored in 10 of their last 13 away games in the PL * Stoke have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 4 league cup away fixtures going back 2 years and in 6 of their last 9 league cup ties since 2012 * Fulham have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 9 home league cup fixtures including 3 of the last 4 Final Verdict Much of the outcome here depends on team-news but we should be good for goals based on some overwhelming goals stats for Fulham who have started the season in similar vein. Stoke are certainly not in form and I expect plenty of changes for the away team in a fixture that could go either way. I'm going for BTTS @4/5 and over 2.5 goals @13/10 while Fulham could cause another upset here, especially if Stoke are without some of their big hitters like Bojan, Arnautovic and Shakiri and they are a big 11/5 to win in 90 minutes. 19:45 Leicester vs West Ham - Prediction -2.1 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/11, Leicester to win @ 21/20, Jo Dodoo to score anytime @21/10 * Leicester are still unbeaten this season and in 11 fixtures going back to last season. Indeed they have lost just 1 of their last 15 competitive fixtures * Leicester have lost just 1 in 10 at home * Leicester have seen BTTS in each of their last 8 competitive fixtures and in 5 of their last 6 at home * Leicester have scored in their last 9 at home and in 12 out of 15 going back to Christmas * Leicester have seen BTTS in 15 of their last 17 ties in the league cup since 2008, and in 6 of their last 7 home ties since 2010 * Changes are expected with the superbly named teenage striker Joe Dodoo coming into attack. Dodoo scored a hat-trick in his debut at Bury in the last round of this competition * West Ham have won each of their last 3 on the road at Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City * West Ham have scored in 5 of thier last 6 away games * There have been 17 goals scored in West Ham's previous four third-round games in this competition. * This is West Ham's 13th competitive fixture of the season. In contrast, it is Leicester's 8th. * Bilic will likely rest a number of players following an exhausting start to the season Final Verdict I'm confident in the goals bet here with BTTS @4/6 and I'll back Leicester to win if West Ham make mutiple changes to their team as expected. The Hammers have had some outstanding results in recent weeks but having played more matches than most, this could be an opportunity to rest some key players. Andy Caroll should get his first start in a while and I expect chances at both ends with both likely to hit the net in what should be an open contest. Leicester can win, depending on team news @ 21/20 while Dodoo could be a good bet to score @21/10 having scored with all 3 of his shots at Bury and earning some rave reviews. 20.15 Rangers v St Johnstone - Prediction 3.1 - Suggested Bets - Rangers to win @4/5, Rangers to score 2 or more @4/5, Rangers to win and over 2.5 goals @7/4, Waghorn to score anytime @6/5 Key Facts * Rangers have won all 11 fixtures so far this season * They have scored 40 goals in the process * Rangers have won 5 in a row at home, scoring 15 and conceding only 1 * Rangers have won 12 of their last 13 home League Cup ties * Rangers have seen BTTS in 5 out of 10 fixtures this season, conceding goals to Dumbarton, Alloa, Q.O.S, St Miren and Hibs * Martyn Waghorn has scored 8 in his last 5 appearances for Rangers * St Johnstone have lost all 5 away fixtures this season * St Johnstone have conceded 2 or more in all 4 PL away fixtures and have no clean sheets in 8 * St Johnstone have scored in 10 of their last 12 away league fixtures * St Johnstone have seen BTTS in all 8 league fixtures this season with 6 also going over 2.5 goals * Rangers have won 7 of their last 8 meetings with St Johnstone, most recently in knocking out the same opponent in last season's competition, a 1.0 win at Ibrox Final Verdict Given both sides current form, I have no problem backing Rangers to win @4/5 odds, while I expect they can score 2 or more also @4/5. BTTS is possible with Rangers still looking a bit uncertain at the back and St Johnstone scoring in 10 of their last 12 at Premier League level. Over 2.5 goals has to have a chance as well given St Johnstone's form in the market while Rangers ought to be too strong going forward and I expect a home win and some goals to go with it. 19:45 Dundee Utd vs Dunfermline - Prediction 1.2- Suggested Bets - BTTS and over 2.5 goals @10/11 Key Facts *Dundee Utd have lost 4 of their last 5 league fixtures * Dundee Utd have won only 1 of 8 fixtures this season and none of their last 6 * Dundee Utd have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 6 fixtures and their last 4 at home * United have only 3 clean sheets in 14 competitive fixtures and only 3 in 20 including a dire pre-season * 5 of their last 6 have also gone over 2.5 goals * Dunfermline are in tremendous form, winning 9 out of 11 fixtures so far this season * The Pars have scored 41 goals during that period * 7 of those 11 fixtures have seen BTTS and 10 went over 2.5 goals * Dunferline have scored 23 goals in just 6 away fixtures this season Final Verdict Here we have a badly out of from team from the top league taking on a free scoring on form Dunfermline from two leagues below and there is certainly the potential for goals and a shock away win. I'm going with the stats and trying BTTS and over 2.5 goals @10/11 Suggested Bets Fulham vs Stoke - BTTS @ 4/5 Rangers v St Johnstone - Rangers to win @4/5 Rangers v St Johnstone - Rangers to score 2 or more @4/5 Leicester vs West Ham - BTTS @8/11 Leicester vs West Ham - Leicester to win @ 21/20 Aston Villa v Birmingham -BTTS @ 5/6 Aston Villa v Birmingham - Birmingham or draw @5/6 Dundee Utd v Dunferline - BTTS and over 2.5 goals @10/11 Long Shots Aston Villa v Birmingham - Birmingham to win @3/1 Joseph Dodoo to score anytime @21/10 Martyn Waghorn to score anytime @6/5 Rangers to win and over 2.5 goals @7/4 Fulham v Stoke - BTTS and over 2.5 goals @ 13/10 Fulham to win @11/5 Comments are closed.
|
Categories |