With the new Football League season back underway, we have an early round of midweek games. The new EFL Cup season starts just days after the opening games from the Football League, and the first round of this competition is usually an exciting one. There are no Premier League teams quite yet, but there are plenty of Championship sides who could suffer an upset, with League One and Two clubs hoping to pull off a shock victory early in the campaign.
Progression to the next round is a welcome financial boost before the transfer window slams shut, which can help smaller clubs get a new signature before the end of the window. Given that the competition isn’t well regarded by sides in the second tier, there’s plenty of room for upsets this week. Alongside the EFL Cup, Real Madrid take on Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup, which is a big test for both ahead of the new season. With so much going on, we’ve put together a midweek BTTS accumulator, and you can see all of our tips below.
Tuesday 8th August 2017
- Real Madrid v Man United (4/6 with Bet365) – The Champions League and Europa League winners meet in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday, which has seen plenty of high scoring games in recent years. We can see the Red Devils exploiting Real, who are still warming up for the new season.
- Cardiff v Portsmouth (4/5 with Betfred) – Portsmouth have made the jump up to League One, and they can cause a shock at a Cardiff side who are likely to rotate. However, we see the Bluebirds grabbing a goal.
- Luton v Ipswich (4/5 with Bet365) – Ipswich won’t have this competition high on their list of priorities, so we can see Luton causing a shock. However, we can’t see the League Two side keeping a clean sheet here.
- Mansfield v Rochdale (4/6 with Betfred) – Mansfield are tipped for a strong season in League Two, so they should probably cause problems for Rochdale. Dale have made some strong attacking acquisitions to their squad, so we’re backing BTTS here.
- Norwich v Swindon (evens with Coral) – Norwich’s first team saw plenty of goals at both ends last term, so we expect a rotated Canaries outfit to concede and score against Swindon.
- QPR v Northampton (10/11 with Betfred) – This hasn’t been a great summer for QPR, who are on shaky ground in the Championship. If there’s anywhere to look for a potential upset, this could be it. The R’s should get a goal at Loftus Road, but we expect Northampton to grab a goal and steal a result.
Thursday 10th August 2017
- Bury v Sunderland (5/7 with BetVictor) – The Black Cats should have the firepower to score at Gigg Lane, but Bury have added the likes of Jermaine Beckford ahead of a League One promotion push, so both teams to score seems like the way to go here.