The EFL Cup continues this week with a full round of fixtures taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday night. All of the Premier League teams not involved in European competition enter the cup at this stage and there are a number of intriguing ties taking place, involving this one at St. James’s Park between last season’s Championship winners Newcastle United and a Nottingham Forest side who are flying high this season in England’s second tier.
When: 7:45PM, Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017 Where: St. James’s Park, Newcastle, England
Newcastle United
Frustrations for Newcastle United fans and Rafael Benitez continued this weekend as the club slipped to a 1-0 away defeat to fellow Premier League new boys, Huddersfield Town. Newcastle United, again, looked toothless in attack as Dwight Gayle and Ayoze Perez struggled to have any real impact on the game. Benitez has failed to add much needed Premier League quality to his side this summer and they certainly look as though they will struggle this season unless owner Mike Ashley releases his grip on the purse strings in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest were expected by many to struggle this season after losing star man Britt Assombalonga to Middlesbrough over the summer, but last weekend they picked up a 2-1 victory over Assombalonga’s Middlesbrough side to move up to 4th place in the Championship, having won three of their first four games. Forest will head into Wednesday’s clash confident that they can pick up a second victory in the North East in a week. Manager Mark Warburton said that he hopes at least one new player will join the club before Wednesday’s game and it is shaping up to be an exciting season this time around for the Midland’s club.
Talking Points
- These sides shared one win apiece last season in the Championship, but who will emerge victorious on Wednesday night?
- Can Newcastle score a goal? Rafael Benitez’s side are yet to find the net this season and the likes of Gayle, Perez and new man Joselu will be desperate to get off the mark.
- Will Rafael Benitez be allowed to spend any more money? So far this summer the club have failed to really strengthen their squad and there are murmurings of discontent from manager Rafael Benitez.
Prediction
I think this will be a tight game; Newcastle United have struggled so far this season, losing both games in the Premier League without scoring, whilst Nottingham Forest will come into the game full of confidence after picking up their third victory in the Championship. Newcastle look short of confidence in every area of the pitch, especially in front of goal and their strikers will be desperate to get off the mark against a team from a lower division, but I fancy Nottingham Forest to get at least a draw out of this game.
Betting Tips (Ladbrokes)
Newcastle start this game as favourites at odds of 1/2, whilst an away win for Nottingham Forest is available at a very generous 6/1 and the draw is 15/4. I think Newcastle are very short considering their struggles this season and I would expect Benitez to shuffle the pack on Wednesday to give some of his fringe players a chance to impress. All things considered, I think the Draw or Nottingham Forest bet available at 13/8 looks like a great shout.