The remaining two Carling Cup second-round ties take place on Tuesday evening with Premier League side Wigan facing a tricky trip to Championship outfit Crystal Palace aiming to bounce back from Saturday’s 3-0 drubbing at Manchester City, while League One rivals Charlton and Preston go head-to-head at the Valley (Carling Cup – totesport).
Crystal Palace v Wigan (8pm)
This is the stand-out contest from the two Tuesday evening fixtures as it throws up the possibility of a lower league outfit dispatching a top-flight side from the competition.
Sunderland, Norwich, QPR and Swansea were notable scalps for Football League sides in the second round and Dougie Freedman’s Eagles have the potential to see off Roberto Martinez’s Latics in south London this week (21/10 Home 90 Minutes).
Palace have made a decent start to their Championship campaign, but things have just started to slide with Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Leeds following on from a 1-1 draw against Blackpool at Selhurst Park before the international break.
Therefore, they will be looking to get a confidence-boosting win under their belts ahead of Saturday’s league visit of Middlesbrough – who, ironically, they will also face at Selhurst Park next Tuesday in the third round if they progress past Wigan.
Freedman is not expected to make too many changes from the side that lost the five-goal thriller at Elland Road so midfielder Darren Ambrose will possibly start on the bench, while defender Anthony Gardner could be in the squad.
Latics boss Martinez is expected to make wholesale changes to his squad for the long trip to London with James McCarthy poised to return from a knee injury, new signings Shaun Maloney and Patrick van Aanholt could play.
Conor Sammon and former Wolves midfielder David Jones are also set to be handed starting roles, while former Palace trio Ben Watson, Victor Moses and Emmerson Boyce could be denied a reunion with old friends by being handed the night off with Martinez having one eye on Saturday’s game against Everton.
It looks like being a close encounter as Palace have won three and drawn one of their four home games this season, while Wigan’s (5/4 Away 90 Minutes) defeat at Manchester City being their first reverse since April.
Extra-time could well be on the cards while an under-strength Wigan could be the key for Palace to edge them out and progress to round three.
Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 12/5
Value Bet: 1-1 Correct Score 90 Minutes @ 6/1
Charlton v Preston (7.45pm)
An all-League One affair at the Valley sees high-flying Charlton face an improving Preston side, who sit just outside the play-off places.
Chris Powell’s Addicks have looked all the better for their summer overhaul as the vast number of new faces have gelled in well with the remaining players to see them sit unbeaten in second spot, level on 17 points with leaders Sheffield United.
However, it is on the road where Charlton have excelled as they have a 100 per cent record from three games, while points have been dropped against Scunthorpe and Sheffield Wednesday on home turf.
But, with a trip to Championship high-fliers Southampton awaiting in round three, Charlton can point to the fact they defeated second tier side Reading 2-1 in the first round at home and also recorded a comfortable 2-0 win against Exeter at the weekend.
Bradley Wright-Phillips has again been the key man for the Addicks with five goals in the bag already this season, but with Powell promising “one or two changes” for the game there is no guarantee he will be in the starting XI.
Preston chief Phil Brown has also hinted at some changes for the game with promotion back to the Championship also his top priority for this season.
As a result striker Iain Hume, who played in Friday evening’s 4-3 win against Yeovil despite featuring for Canada on international duty 48 hours earlier, could get the night off to prepare for Saturday’s league tussle at Brentford.
North End (5/2 Away 90 Minutes) are also on a decent run after remaining unbeaten in the five games following a disappointing opening day 4-2 defeat against Colchester at Deepdale, while they came from behind to defeat Crewe 3-2 at home in round one.
As with the first game, it is difficult to call (5/2 Draw 90 Minutes), as both managers are clearly looking to give a several key men a break from the action.
However, Charlton have the strength in depth to cope with a myriad changes and that should be enough to get them marching through to face the Saints at St Mary’s next Wednesday.
Prediction: Charlton Home 90 Minutes @ 21/20
Value Bet: Charlton 2-1 90 Minutes Correct Score @ 7/1
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