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

The north Londoners take on David Moyes’ men knowing a victory will put them level with second-placed United and three points behind Premier League leaders City in the race for the biggest prize on the domestic stage.

Harry Redknapp has the luxury of recalling the influential attacking triumvirate of Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale after resting them for Saturday’s 3-0 FA Cup win over Cheltenham and Tottenham will not want to waste what could turn out to be a crucial game in hand.

The top-four hopefuls have scored in every home game in the Premier League so far this season and for all of the ongoing conjecture about an ever-changing back four – Redknapp will again be without Ledley King and William Gallas on Wednesday – it is worth noting Tottenham have only conceded one goal in their last five games at White Hart Lane in the top flight.

Redknapp has played a trick on his squad by making no secret of his desire to bring in a marquee signing in an attempt to keep them on their toes and, on paper at least, only injuries could prevent Tottenham from splitting – or even surpassing – the two Manchester clubs.

They started 2012 as the capital’s top club for the first time in 17 years and there is genuine belief that they could go close to achieving the unthinkable.

The visit of Everton gives them the chance to prove they can deliver on such promise but it will not be easy.

The Merseysiders have picked up recently and thoughts of relegation have eased off the back of a run of just one defeat in five games in all competitions.

Moyes continues to perform miracles with limited resources and Everton can prove belligerent and obdurate opponents on their travels.

They have come through a wretched spell at the end of 2011 – a run which yielded just three wins in all competitions from September 24 to December 17 – to climb up the table and allay fears of a relegation scrap for the time being at least.

The advice here is to stick with the home side because this fixture could mean just that bit more to them and speculative punters may like the Jermain Defoe, who has scored first on his last two starts, and Tottenham 2-0 win ‘Scorecast‘ selection, team news permitting.

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