Only Liverpool and Aston Villa have won the League Cup on more occasions than Nottingham Forest and they continue an unlikely quest for a fifth win in the competition at home to Wigan on Tuesday.
Forest have made an encouraging start to their season and are currently unbeaten in four matches in all competitions.
Although Wigan could prove the toughest test yet, Forest have already negotiated an away trip to pre-season Championship favourites Bolton - battling to a 2-2 draw on Friday evening.
Forest are 11/8 (2.38) favourites with Paddy Power to beat their Premier League opponents, while the draw that would take this second round clash into extra-time is available at 23/10 (3.30).
But Wigan are one of the form teams of the top flight under Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard somehow turned his team’s fortunes around to guide them to seven wins from their final nine games last season.
After a spirited effort at Chelsea, the Latics have begun this campaign in similar vein and produced a clinical display to win at Southampton at the weekend.
Wigan are 19/10 (2.90) with Paddy Power to claim another win on the road here.
In the goalscorer markets, Forest’s Dexter Blackstock is the 6/1 (7.00) favourite to open the scoring in this one. Wigan forwards Arouna Kone and Franco Di Santo are each at 13/2 (7.50) with Paddy Power.
But with the possibility of changes, it could pay to look at general patterns for the best bets rather than backing individuals.
Wigan scored in their last 11 matches of the 2011-12 campaign and it took Chelsea to deny them this season. Forest too have scored in all four matches this term.
As a result, it could be worth looking to back both teams to score at 4/6 (1.67).
However, given the more attractive price of evens (2.00) for over 2.5 goals it makes more sense to risk the hit of the 1-1 draw and go with the overs here. That’s the pick of the bets.
For the value bet, consider coming down in favour of the Premier League side. Yes, they are the underdogs. But the recent indications are that Championship teams do not take this competition any more seriously than their top-flight counterparts.
The value bet is to expect Wigan’s fringe players to get the job done in a narrow win – check out the industry-best price with Paddy Power for a 2-1 away win at 10/1 (11.00).
| BET |
OF THE |
DAY |
| BEST BET |
VALUE BET |
| Over 2.5 goals at evens (2.00) with Paddy Power |
Wigan to win 2-1 at 10/1 (11.00) with Paddy Power |
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Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here - you can also follow Adam on
