Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
13 Premier League clubs join the Carabao Cup in the competition’s Second Round this week, and our analysts are tipping the goals to flow in the big hitters’ fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As we discovered in our research piece last year, the early rounds of the Carabao Cup are generally a goal-mine and ripe for plundering in the over 2.5 total goals markets.
An average of 3.17 goals were registered per game across the first three rounds of the tournament over the past five seasons, an almost 20% increase on the Premier League’s figure for the same period (2.7).
This week’s Carabao Cup Second Round schedule is also loaded with goal-scoring potential. Check out our over 2.5 accumulator featuring fixtures involving Premier League teams below.
Make sure to check out the rest of our Carabao Cup match previews for more free betting tips and knock-out football predictions.
Crawley Town vs Norwich City
Mid-table League Two outfit Crawley Town host Premier League new boys Norwich City at Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday, hoping to case a major Carabao Cup upset.
Both Crawley’s and Norwich’s early season fixtures have had supporters on the edge of their seats, and we’re predicting plenty more penalty area drama to unfold when the teams lock horns this week.
Over 2.5 goals were scored in five of Town’s first six competitive fixtures of the campaign in league and cup, while Norwich City’s first trio of Premier League contests averaged 4.66 goals per 90 minutes.
In our detailed match preview for the game, we’ve tipped Crawley and Norwich to keep the excitement coming in West Sussex.
Crystal Palace vs Colchester United
Crystal Palace have been returning some uninspiring numbers in the attacking third so far this season, drawing two blanks inside their first three Premier League fixtures of the season.
However, the Eagles’ enjoyed a confidence-boosting 2-1 triumph at Old Trafford on Saturday, and our experts expect them to cut loose in front of goal this week against struggling Colchester United.
The U’s, who currently occupy 17th spot in England’s third tier, have had to endure a stuttering start to League Two, winning just one of their first six matches overall. A buoyant Eagles side should turn them over relatively comfortably at Selhurst Park this week.
Watford vs Coventry City
With Javi Gracia’s Hornets job rumoured to be on the line, the Spaniard will welcome a break from the rigours and difficulties of the Premier League with open arms this week.
Watford welcome League One promotion hopefuls Coventry City to Vicarage Road on Tuesday, in a fixture that Gracia will want to win emphatically for obvious reasons.
A good win and performance could go some way to lifting the early season gloom at Watford, and our analysts are backing the Hornets players to buy Gracia some more time with a resounding victory.
Newport County vs West Ham United
Watford’s conquerors at the weekend, West Ham, kicked their Premier League season into gear on Saturday with a fine 3-1 win over the Hornets at Vicarage Road.
The victory was the Hammers’ first of the new campaign, and Manuel Pellegrini will be keen to maintain their new-found momentum against League Two’s Newport County in Wales on Tuesday.
Newport are yet to taste defeat in six competitive matches in 2018/19, though our experts have backed West Ham to blot their hosts’ copybooks for the first time this season by putting three past County at Rodney Parade.
Crewe Alexandra vs Aston Villa
After watching his team put their first Premier League win of the season on board at Everton’s expense on Saturday, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is expected to ring the changes for the Villains’ Carabao Cup tie at Crewe.
The turnaround in personnel adds a unique layer of unpredictability to what already promised to be a cracking clash.
When it comes to action, fixtures at Gresty Road rarely disappoint – 75% or nine of their last 12 competitive home matches saw over 2.5 goals scored, and we’ve tipped that high percentage to be enhanced even further in our match preview for Tuesday’s game.
Fulham vs Southampton
Fresh from their first Premier League win of the 2019/20 campaign on Saturday, Southampton turn their attentions to the Carabao Cup this week with a tough looking trip to face Fulham in London on the horizon.
The statistics suggest that we should expect the net to ripple quite a bit at Craven Cottage – two of the Saints’ first three games of the season returned a minimum of three goals, while their last five fixtures on the road averaged 2.8 goals per 90 minutes.
Fulham’s home matches haven’t been shy on goal-scoring action either – nine of their last 13 fixtures on their own patch saw over 2.5 goals registered.
More positive figures can be found in the teams’ head-to-head record from last season. Fulham and Southampton met home and away in the 2018/19 Premier League, and an average of 3.5 goals hit the net per contest.
Check out the rest of our Fulham vs Southampton predictions and betting tips in our extensive match preview for the game here.
Take a look at our Carabao Cup homepage for more of the latest predictions, special offers and betting tips here!
