Wednesday’s solitary Capital One cup tie sees Premier League Everton go head-to-head with League One outfit Leyton Orient at Goodison Park as David Moyes’ men look to win the cup for the very first time (14/1 Outright).
The Toffees have enjoyed an impressive start to the new Premier League season with a 1-0 home win against Manchester United followed by a 3-1 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday. And, they will be confident of having too much for the O’s in the second round of the newly-named League Cup this week.
Moyes is expected to use the match to blood some youngsters and hand some fringe men an opportunity to put themselves into contention for a call-up to the senior side for Premier League duty.
But with skipper Phil Neville revealing that qualification into European football is their main target this season, the Capital One Cup is a realistic chance to achieve that goal and pick up some silverware along the way.
The O’s come into the tie on the back of a free weekend after a motorway smash resulted in their League One home clash with Hartlepool being postponed when the visitors were unable to get to the Matchroom Stadium in time for kick-off.
And, while they impressively knocked out London rivals Charlton of the Championship on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Valley in the previous round of the League Cup, Russell Slade’s men are pointless from their opening two league outings having lost to Tranmere and Stevenage respectively.
Everton also hold the upper hand in the previous eight meetings between the two sides with Walter Smith’s side romping to a 4-1 FA Cup fourth round win in 2002 the last time they faced each other.
The last League Cup encounter also went in favour of the Merseysiders in 1989 thanks to goals from Mike Newell and Kevin Sheedy. The recent form suggests a home banker in this tie, with Orient’s only chance of conjuring up a cup shock coming from Moyes’ team selection.
If the Scot opts to make wholesale changes and hands the majority of his usual starting XI a rest it could give the Londoners a chance, but we feel he will send out a side more than capable of winning this tie inside the regular 90 minutes.
Prediction: Everton Home 90 Minutes @ 2/9
Value Bet: Everton To Win 3-1 Correct Score @ 10/1
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