The 2nd round fixtures of the Carling Cup are played this week, with teams battling it out on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The cup always provides the potential for a few surprises and upsets, so let’s look at the betting markets and see if we can unearth a few gems.
Firstly, the most generous bet of the night will be Leeds at home to Watford. You can get odds of 6/5 for United to win, which would seriously boost an accumulator bet. Leeds have a 100% record so far in League One and are looking very strong, buoyed by goals from Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio. They should see off their Championship opposition with relative ease.
The main skill you can acquire for cup betting is spotting an upset. You will not get good odds on favourites in these matches, they are usually under evens. This means that if you find a potential upset, you can get very good odds of 4’s or 5’s. Newcastle United play host to Huddersfield Town, a club that is managed by Geordie legend Lee Clark. The young manager will want to prove himself back in his home town and may just inspire his League One side to victory. You can get them at 6/1, with the draw at 4/1.
Wigan Athletic were thrashed 5-0 at home to Man Utd at the weekend, and they have the difficult trip to fellow Lancastrians Blackpool on Wednesday. Blackpool managed to get a 2-2 draw at Watford on Saturday, a good result by all accounts, and they will carry this confidence into this week’s fixture. You can get Blackpool at 9/4 or the draw at 23/10 - both serious possibilities here.
Remember that these Carling Cup fixtures are decided on the night - there will be no replays, only extra-time then a penalty shoot out to determine the winners. Because of this, you have to be aware of teams that may want to hold out for a draw and use their superior fitness to hit their opponents in extra-time. This is where Premiership teams can really prove their ability, so don’t be surprised to see Southampton vs Birmingham and Tranmere vs Bolton go past the normal 90 minutes.
Obviously looking for potential upsets is all good and well, but sometimes you may be better going for more reliable bets, albeit at lower odds. These bets can be beneficial when placed in accumulators. QPR, Wolves, West Ham and Cardiff are all at home to League One or Two opposition, and I will be very surprised to see any of these get knocked out at this stage of the competition.
So there you have it. Those are my tips for this week’s Carling Cup fixtures - by no means are they guaranteed payouts, but going by my past record this season, you might just strike lucky with the right combination!