The domestic league season has already kicked off for the majority of teams in the English football pyramid, and now comes the time when clubs will look to have a go at EFL Cup glory. Despite the Premier League big hitters dominating the competition in recent years, many of the EFL clubs will look at sides like Cardiff City and Bradford City of the past and will look to emulate their success by reaching the EFL Cup final.
The EFL Cup opening round has fluctuated somewhat in how goal heavy it has been. However, it is usually a bit more goal-laden than regular league football, which opens up the opportunity to place an interesting value acca on goals in the right ties.
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Another trend worth taking notice of is the one between Championship and League Two sides in the same tie. Over the last two seasons second tier and fourth-tier sides have met in the opening round on 15 occasions, 11 of which ended up going over the 2.5 goal line, 73%.
This will be one of the factors taken into account in the selections for this midweek.
Lucky for you, we have an EFL Goals Accumulator for this evening’s action, and it’s coming in at 8.63 for anyone interested in taking part in what we believe could be a goal-ridden first round.
Tuesday’s EFL Cup Goals Accumulator
Blackburn v Walsall
Blackburn can play some good attacking football, especially at home, and beat Hartlepool 4-0 at home last year, though they lost 1-2 against Morecambe the year before in the EFL Cup. Rotation could mean their usual tight home defence is a bit leakier too.
Sunderland v Crewe
Sunderland always look to be on the front foot at the Stadium of Light and Tony Mowbray’s side looked good without actually taking their chances on Sunday. They will rotate but will likely be looking for goals against this fourth-tier side. Crewe on the other hand had to settle for a point at the weekend in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw with 10-man Mansfield Town. Goals very much could be on the cards here.
Gillingham v Southampton
Russell Martin’s side is going to dominate the ball here but previous evidence suggests that the Scotsman’s teams are able to convert this into goals in the EFL Cup. In 2021 Swansea won 3-0 at Reading at this stage, under Martin, and last year drew 2-2 at Oxford. Gillingham have proven they are not the minnow side they were 12 months ago. New ownership saw a complete change in attitude and results midway through last season, and many have tipped them for a play-off spot come the conclusion of the regular season. Winning away at promotion favourites Stockport was a cracking way to start.
Wrexham v Wigan
Wrexham games are usually chaotic. This is live on TV so the Welsh club will be looking to put on a show, and Wigan’s cast of four good forwards, Josh Magennis, Stephen Humphrys, Charlie Wyke, and Callum Lang will be dangerous regardless of who is chosen. Wrexham showed their susceptiveness to defensive frailties at the weekend, but also demonstrated a never say die attitude in their 5-3 home loss to MK Dons. Big things are expected from the Welsh Hollywood story this season, and decent progression in the EFL Cup could be an avenue for them to demonstrate their all out attacking football.
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Written by an Andy verified content writer
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