A trio of Championship teams combine for a tasty 10/3 treble with on a busy night of Carling Cup first round action.
The first round of the Carling Cup tends to produce one or two surprise results as some teams put the competition to the bottom of their list of priorities and make changes to their starting line-ups. On the one hand, this makes it difficult for punters to cash-in on strong favourites but on the other, there’s scope for profit in backing potential shocks at decent prices.
One mini-upset could occur at Gigg Lane, where Bury are 9/5 at bet365 to get the better of Coventry. The promoted Shakers started the campaign with a creditable and deserved 1-1 draw away to League One title hopefuls Huddersfield and on their own patch they might have a bit too much for the Sky Blues, potential strugglers in the Championship, who lost their opener 1-0 on Saturday.
At the City Ground, Nottingham Forest entertain near neighbours Notts County and the Magpies, underdogs at 9/2 with Totesport, could stun their hosts to claim local bragging rights.
Steve McClaren’s charges looked toothless as they played out a goalless draw against Barnsley on Saturday and the ex-England boss is set to shuffle his pack ahead of this one. County, by contrast, opened with an impressive 3-0 away win at Carlisle and Martin Allen will have his players fired up for this derby contest, in which the inevitable frenetic pace and lack of quality will suit the League One outfit.
Stevenage, bet365’s 2/1 outsiders, also look slightly overpriced as they take on Peterborough and also a 2/1, this time at William Hill, are Accrington, who tackle Scunthorpe at the Crown Ground.
Elsewhere, favourites that could go well are Doncaster, a 5/6 chance at Sportingbet to get the better of Tranmere, last year’s semi-finalists Ipswich, rated by at 1/2 to overcome Northampton at Portman Road and Barnsley; the latter priced by Coral at 4/7. That trio meanwhile can be combined in a treble at 10/3 ().
Recommended Bets:
Treble on Doncaster, Ipswich and Barnsley – 10/3 ()
Bury to beat Coventry – 9/5 (bet365)
Notts County to beat Nottingham Forest – 9/2 (Totesport)
Full Carling Cup Fixture List:
Tuesday 9 August:
Crystal Palace v Crawley Town (19:30 BST)
Hartlepool United v Sheffield United (19:30 BST)
Accrington Stanley v Scunthorpe United (19:45 BST)
AFC Bournemouth v Dagenham & Redbridge (19:45 BST)
Barnsley v Morecambe (19:45 BST)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Gillingham (19:45 BST)
Bristol City v Swindon Town (19:45 BST)
Burnley v Burton Albion (19:45 BST)
Bury v Coventry City (19:45 BST)
Charlton Athletic v Reading (19:45 BST)
Cheltenham Town v Milton Keynes Dons (19:45 BST)
Derby County v Shrewsbury Town (19:45 BST)
Doncaster Rovers v Tranmere Rovers (19:45 BST)
Exeter City v Yeovil Town (19:45 BST)
Hereford United v Brentford (19:45 BST)
Hull City v Macclesfield Town (19:45 BST)
Ipswich Town v Northampton Town (19:45 BST)
Leeds United v Bradford City (19:45 BST)
Nottingham Forest v Notts County (19:45 BST)
Oldham Athletic v Carlisle United (19:45 BST)
Plymouth Argyle v Millwall (19:45 BST)
Port Vale v Huddersfield Town (19:45 BST)
Portsmouth v Barnet (19:45 BST)
Preston North End v Crewe Alexandra (19:45 BST)
Rochdale v Chesterfield (19:45 BST)
Rotherham United v Leicester City (19:45 BST)
Southampton v Torquay United (19:45 BST)
Southend United v Leyton Orient (19:45 BST)
Stevenage v Peterborough United (19:45 BST)
Walsall v Middlesbrough (19:45 BST)
West Ham v Aldershot Town (19:45 BST)
Wycombe Wanderers v Colchester United (19:45 BST)
Wednesday 10 August:
Bristol Rovers v Watford (19:45 BST)
Oxford United v Cardiff City (19:45 BST)
Thursday 11 August:
Sheffield Wednesday v Blackpool (19:45 BST)
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