Championship side Brentford travel a short distance to contest a London derby with AFC Wimbledon in the first round of the EFL Cup, known this season as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons.
English Football League Cup – 1st Round Tuesday 8th August – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 5/2 at Sky Bet |
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AFC Wimbledon
BrentfordAFC Wimbledon
Wimbledon had a decent start to this season with a 1-1 draw away at last season’s third-placed side Scunthorpe United.
It was a solid performance against a team tipped for promotion by many, and the Wimbledon players showed grit and determination to come back after falling behind in just the sixth minute. A showing like that will help build confidence and could be the building block for a strong season.
They will hope to cause an upset here and go further in this competition than they did last season, when they conceded a 93rd minute goal to lose 3-2 against Peterborough United.
Brentford
Brentford went through pre-season unbeaten and looked to be heading into the new league campaign as promotion contenders.
However, if they had high aspirations, they were brought back down to earth with a 1-0 defeat away to newly-promoted Sheffield United.
Their performance wasn’t the worst, as they controlled possession for the most part and created more chances, but they just couldn’t manage to find the net to get themselves back in the game. It’s a disappointing result and one manager Dean Smith will be eager for his players to bounce back from.
The Championship side suffered a shock defeat at this stage of the competition last season, losing 1-0 After Extra Time away at League Two Exeter City, and will be keen for history not to repeat itself.
Head to Head
The only head to head information available was from the most recent meeting between the sides in this competition in September 2013. It was an eight-goal thriller, with seven scored in the second half, as Brentford won 5-3 to advance to the next round.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Brentford are rightly the favourites to pick up the victory here, as they are the better team with regards their placings in the league standings. However, the betting odds show the bookmakers believe there is the potential for a shock, which means there’s value to be add when betting on either side.
The Championship side are priced at 21/20 with Sky Bet, whilst AFC Wimbledon are at 5/2. A draw is also priced at 5/2.
‘Draw no Bet’ could be a market worth utilising for this match. The prices are lower, with Wimbledon at 6/4 and Brentford at 1/2 but punters will receive their stake back if the game ends level.
Trying to pick a winner in this match is proving a tough task but we do believe there’s a great chance for a cup upset here. Therefore, backing Wimbledon ‘To Qualify’ is a bet we’re tempted to recommend, at odds of 5/4.
If you fancy Brentford to fight their way through this difficult task, they are 4/7 in the same market.
Although the previous meeting between these sides saw eight goals scored it’s hard to believe there will be as many in this match. However, in saying that, we also cannot rule it out. Therefore, we would advise punters to steer clear of ‘Over/Under’ and ‘Both Teams to Score’ markets as the risk factor is too high for the odds available.
As it’s a cup tie, there’s a chance of the match going to extra time and/or penalties. If you believe this could happen, it’s 5/1 for either team to win AET and 6/1 for either team to win on penalties.
Top Betting Tip
This one is far too tough to call, and the bookmakers could have an extremely profitable evening. However, we do think there’s a high chance of a cup upset. Brentford were beaten by lower ranked opposition last season and their minds may be looking past this match to their next league game, where they will try and pick up their first three points of the season.
For that reason, AFC Wimbledon ‘To Qualify’ is our top top for this match, at odds of 5/2 with Sky Bet.