Capital One Cup acca: Oldham lead upset-orientated fourfold
Published:The early rounds of the Capital One Cup are littered with upsets and we’ve sounded out four sides set to fall at the first hurdle that, when backing against them as part of an accumulator, combine for a 34/1 pay day.
The Posh marked their return to life in the third tier with a 1-0 win over Swindon at London Road and travel to Colchester – who kicked off the season with a 1-0 victory of their own – buoyed by this.
Darren Ferguson’s men usually submit in their quest for Capital One Cup glory in the second round and have not succumbed to a first round exit since the 2008/09 instalment.
Only one of these games required extra-time, so backing them to beat the U’s on their own patch – something they’ve done on two of their previous six visits, having avoided defeat on four of these occasions – looks to be a good place to begin.
The recently relegated Robins travel to Kent to take on a freshly promoted Gillingham side who will be eyeing a shock against a team with far higher priorities than Capital One Cup advancement.
Gillingham signed off on their title-winning season with six wins from nine at the Priestfield Stadium, while Bristol City lost eight from 10 on the road last term.
The pair met at this stage in 2012/13 and Gillingham prevailed on that occasion; back them to do the same again here.
Eddie Howe’s Cherries are the only selection of this fourfold that isn’t odds-against, but it’s very much worth including.
A 4-1 mauling at home to Oxford wasn’t exactly the easy League Two ride that Pompey envisioned, while Bournemouth were as dependable as always at home to Charlton. Their three duels last season yielded two draws and a victory for the favourites here so expect them to improve on this against a far weaker Portsmouth unit.
Treating a cup clash with Oldham as an easy path to the next round can prove costly – as Liverpool will attest – and Derby will have to be at their best to avoid a slip up.
A record of four straight first round losses to lower league adversaries in the past four years suggests that the Rams won’t put up too stern a resistance at Boundary Park though, so back one of the previous campaign’s shock specialists to pick up where they left off.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
