AFC Wimbledon vs West Ham United Predictions

It’s not been the best start to the season for Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham, though they have at times played reasonably well. That said, they’ve got little to show for their efforts, so they’ll be hoping to give their fans something to cheer about when they visit AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow on Tuesday evening.

On paper, West Ham have made a dismal start to the season, while it doesn’t appear that they’ve got overly competitive in their defeats either. However, they probably didn’t deserve to lose against Bournemouth on match-day two, while their efforts merited more against Arsenal last time out. In fact, had Pellegrini’s men offered more end-product against the Gunners, then they would have almost definitely taken something from the game.

Despite not getting the desired results in the league recently, West Ham ought to fancy themselves here. Against League One opposition, this is a good opportunity for them to get their season up and running, even if the manager does opt to make changes and thus rest a few key players. As far as their performances in this competition go, the Hammers haven’t fared too badly in recent times. Last season they were knocked out by Arsenal, though they beat Cheltenham, Bolton and Tottenham prior to that. What’s more, West Ham have recorded convincing wins in each of their last three League Cup matches against teams from a lower level.

Unlike the visitors, Wimbledon have made a pleasing start to the season at their own level. Neal Ardley’s men have been as organised as ever, they’ve defended well, while they’ve picked up some pleasing results. Having said that, they do come into this match off the back of losing at home to Sunderland, despite leading.

However, where Wimbledon haven’t thrived in recent times is in this competition. Their win against Portsmouth in the last round was their first ever victory in the League Cup. They’d lost each of their seven previous matches, none of which were against Premier League opposition.

At the end of the day, Wimbledon lack the quality to face West Ham and get a result, though that doesn’t mean that they’ll be embarrassed. After all, they acquitted themselves well when denying Spurs for an hour in the FA Cup last season, so they’re expected to make life tough for West Ham, especially early on.

At the prices, the bet that stands out is ‘West Ham to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’. The visitors are likely to make changes, though they ought to have more than enough quality to see off a League One side that is not the most attack-minded. That said, ‘Under 3.5 Goals’ has landed in each of their last three wins against lower-level teams in this competition.