Newcastle United welcome Nottingham Forest to St James’ Park on Wednesday, with the sides battling it out for a place in the third round of this seasons EFL Cup.
Newcastle United Team News
Having lost their opening two Premier League matches upon their return to the English top-flight, Newcastle United are in desperate need of a confidence boost against their Championship opponents on Wednesday evening. Former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss, Rafa Benitez, has struggled to get the best out of his squad so far this season, having been left frustrated in the transfer market. However, new signing Joselu could well make his first start against Forest, with the likes of Jacob Murphy, Henri Saivet and Karl Darlow also hoping to feature. Darlow and defender Jamaal Lascelles could well come up against their former club, while former England international Jonjo Shelvey is still suspended following his red card against Tottenham.
Nottingham Forest Team News
Meanwhile, having only avoided relegation to League One on the final day of last season, Forest have made a good start to the new season, winning three of their opening four encounters. Former Rangers boss Mark Warburton is in his first full season at the City Ground, with the former European Cup winners looking to return to the big time following many years in the second tier of English football. Former Newcastle man Daryl Murphy could well line-up in attack for Forest, while the likes of Zac Clough and Mustapha Carayol will be looking for rare starts.
Head to Head
Newcastle have won 51 of their meetings with Nottingham Forest in the past, the latest of which came at St James’ Park back in December 2016, where Benitez’s men claimed a 3-1 win. However, having lost 2-1 at the City Ground in the same season, Forest are certainly capable of causing an upset this week. However, Newcastle have certainly got the better of their opponents in recent years, losing just three of their last 14 meetings.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Taking all of this into account, for those looking to place a winning bet on this match, there are a whole host of markets to take advantage of. Despite their difficult start to the campaign, Newcastle are the favourites with the majority of bookmakers, with popular bookmakers Ladbrokes offering attractive odds of 1/2. However, for those looking to bet on the problems continuing for Rafa Benitez’s men, the same bookmakers offer odds of 6/1 for Warburton’s men to win inside 90 minutes.
Elsewhere, given the fact that a large number of EFL Cup ties require extra time and even penalties to separate the two teams, backing Newcastle to qualify for the next round may well be a market worth utilising. Odds of 2/7 at William Hill can be found for those interested in this bet. Finally, Dwight Gayle was the top scorer in the Championship last season, so backing the forward with a bet could also be fruitful. Backing Gayle to score and Newcastle to win 1-0 can be found at odds of 16/1 at Ladbrokes.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the EFL Cup match between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest is to back there being over 2.5 goals, which can be found at best odds of 13/20 at Ladbrokes.