The final match of the second round of the Capital One Cup takes place on Thursday and there’s a chance of a shock, as League Two Northampton take on Championship promotion hopefuls Wolves at Sixfields (Match Betting – Northampton 12/5, draw 12/5, Wolves 11/10).
The competition has already seen a number of upsets, with the likes of Burton, Swindon and Crawley all beating teams from higher divisions, and the Cobblers will be hoping their luck holds out.
Aidy Boothroyd’s men currently sit ninth in the table following an unbeaten start to the campaign and will look on the Capital One Cup as the perfect opportunity to raise some much-needed funds.
After finishing 20th last season, Boothroyd has remodelled his squad through the summer and has brought in a number of talented youngsters in a bid to aid his side’s push for promotion.
However, on nights like this it’s often experience that can make the difference and in veteran striker Clive Platt (13/2 – first goalscorer) Northampton may just have the perfect man to help them cause a shock.
The 34-year-old moved to Sixfields in the summer and although he has yet to find the net in his four appearances this season, he is a man who always rises to the occasion.
Platt’s physicality is sure to cause the Wolves defenders some problems and he’ll be hoping to prove he can still mix it with Championship players.
Like Thursday’s opponents, Wanderers have also had to make changes to their squad over the last few months but now look set to make a genuine challenge in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in May.
New boss Stale Solbakken has had to wave goodbye to the likes of Matt Jarvis and Steven Fletcher but still has plenty of quality in his ranks and is likely to use the Northampton tie as the perfect opportunity to assess whether or not some of his fringe players are good enough to force their way into the side.
One of these is likely to be Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (5/1 – first goalscorer), who after years of failing to find any consistency in the top flight is likely to be given plenty of chances to shine in the Championship.
After already netting twice this term, the stocky striker will expect to get onto the scoresheet at Sixfields so look out for him to have big impact on the outcome of the game.
These matches are almost always too close to call and both teams will fancy their chances of making it into the third round where they could come up against one of the Premier League big boys.
However, despite their recent relegation, Wolves still have plenty of quality in their ranks and should emerge with a comfortable win (Wolves 16/1 to win 3-1).
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Tottenham should maintain their challenge to stay on the coat-tails of the Manchester powerhouses when they entertain Everton at White Hart Lane in the Premier League on Wednesday (Tottenham 8/15 draw 3/1 Everton 6/1 – 90 minutes).