We are going with the o2.5 goals bet here between Burton and Liverpool U21 for many reasons.

Burton have seen four of their five League One matches go over 2.5 goals so far this season, and they rank in the top eight for xG created, as well as bottom eight for xG conceded.

All three of Liverpool U21s PL2 matches this season have gone over 2.5 goals as well. These matches have been a 2-4 defeat to Leicester, a 2-3 defeat at home to Burnley and a 2-1 win at Stoke.

Both teams look likely to contribute to the total of goals here.

Doncaster have made a really strong start to League One season. The history of this competition is dominated by teams that finish up near the top of League One, for obvious reasons.

Doncaster look to be one of the stronger League One teams this season, and whilst we obviously expect a degree of rotation, there is a positivity around the club which makes them feel a confident bet, especially against an U21 team.

Indeed, Doncaster and Everton U21 met in this competition two years ago, and that ended 2-0 to Doncaster.

Doncaster have been fairly tight defensively in the league, but are likely to be more open in this competition. All of their matches in the EFL Trophy last season went over 2.5 goals, with all of them also seeing BTTS land.

Everton U21 won their opening PL2 match 1-0 over Blackburn, but since then have had a 3-4 defeat to Fulham and 1-2 defeat at Norwich.

Similarly to Doncaster, Stockport will be expecting to be challenging for promotion to the Championship, and whilst that will be their overall goal, an EFL Trophy campaign often ends up going hand-in-hand with that.

Stockport qualified for the knockout phase last year, and they won their first two matches in the group 4-1, including against Everton U21.

These two actually met in 2022, with Wolves winning that match 2-1, but this is when Stockport were a League Two club.

The Hatters have been too loose in defence for Dave Challinor’s liking so far, having conceded in their last five League One matches, but they have also scored in all of their league matches.

All of Wolves U21’s matches this season have seen both teams score and go over 2.5 goals. A 1-2 defeat to Wealdstone in the NL Cup, followed by PL2 matches 2-1 v Burnley, 2-2 v Stoke, and 3-1 v Blackburn.

Bromley have had a good start to the League Two season and are carrying a record of scoring twice in each their last five league matches - three of those matches they conceded in, too.

This is Bromley’s second EFL Trophy campaign. Last season they opened with a 3-3 against Cambridge, they lost 2-3 to Chelsea U21 as well, which again, indicates that goals should be in plentiful supply here.

Crystal Palace have had one of the best U21 teams in the country over the last couple of years. There was a very rare 0-0 draw in the PL2 in their last match, but their previous match was a 3-2 win at Tottenham.

Their matches in the EFL Trophy last season saw a 3-1 win at Gillingham, as well as a 1-4 defeat at Peterborough and a 0-1 defeat at Stevenage.

Huddersfield have brought a lot of players into the club over the summer and that has supplied them with some depth, which will be handy for this competition.

The Terriers had a chastening defeat in the league at the weekend, 1-3 at Barnsley, which demonstrated that there are some weaknesses in their defence that Newcastle can try and exploit here.

Two of Huddersfield’s group stage matches from 2024 went over 2.5 goals, a 1-2 defeat at Doncaster and a 4-1 win against Man Utd U21s. They qualified for the knockout stage and will be aiming to do the same this season.

Newcastle U21s have had all four of their matches go over 2.5 goals. An exciting 4-3 win over local rivals Gateshead in the NL Cup led into three PL2 matches which have gone 1-2 v Southampton, 0-5 v Chelsea, and 2-2 v Birmingham.

It could be a long PL2 season for Newcastle, it doesn’t look a vintage crop of Toon youngsters.