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David Prutton is back with his latest predictions ahead of the second round of the Carabao Cup this week.
But who is he tipping for glory or failure? Read on to find out…
It will be interesting to see what team Craig Shakespeare puts out at Bramall Lane. Leicester could fancy themselves to go for a cup competition this season but you imagine there will be a few changes.
Sheffield United got back to winning ways at the weekend and could have put a few more past Barnsley, their first priority is consolidation in the Championship, but Chris Wilder isn’t the type to not give 100 per cent in every game. That being said, Leicester should still have too much for them.
Prutton predicts: 1-2 with Islam Slimani to score first (33/1 with Sky Bet)
I’ll be at this game on Wednesday and I’m thoroughly looking forward to it! West Ham could use a victory after their poor start to the season in the Premier League, and anything but a win here will only heap more pressure on Slaven Bilic.
Cheltenham have not had the best start to the season themselves in League Two and, while I don’t think West Ham will run away with it, they should get the win.
Prutton predicts: 1-3 with Diafra Sakho to score first (30/1 with Sky Bet)
This one feels like it could be close. Mick McCarthy’s first thought will be on the league, but because of the way they’ve started they could fancy themselves here.
Palace are still trying to find their feet under Frank de Boer and Ipswich will want to keep up their perfect start to the season. I fancy a shock.
It’s been a great start for West Brom and these are the types of games where you feel that Tony Pulis will just want as straightforward an evening as possible.
He’ll make changes but he’ll expect whoever he puts out to be bang on it, and that should see them past Accrington.
We’ve seen Eddie Howe make a lot of changes in the cup competitions in the past, and there was a lot of talk about how that poor FA Cup loss in January sent them on a bad run in the Premier League.
Birmingham, meanwhile, have a lot of injuries and Harry Redknapp hasn’t got his squad right where he wants it yet. There won’t be quite so much chopping and changing, and he’ll want a response from their defeat at Burton. But Bournemouth should get their first win of the season here.
Brighton have had a tough start to life in the Premier League, and this game may come as a bit of a relief to them as they have the opportunity to dominate a side again, like they did for so much of last season.
This won’t be completely straightforward as Chris Hughton’s focus will obviously be on getting a first league win at the weekend. Barnet will relish playing against Brighton but they should have too much for them.
Swansea fell apart in the closing stages at the weekend against Manchester United, and Paul Clement has said he’ll be fielding a strong side in this one as they target a first win.
MK Dons isn’t the toughest place to go in the lower leagues, and I think Swansea should get a comfortable win, with a couple of goals for Tammy Abraham if he starts.
This should be a tasty Lancashire affair. Blackburn finally got off and running in League One after a terrible start to the season and Tony Mowbray will want them to keep that going in midweek.
For Burnley, meanwhile, it was back to reality against West Brom after their brilliant opening-day win at Chelsea. Sean Dyche will surely make changes but the Clarets should be comfortable.
Graeme Souness was very critical about Newcastle’s defending at the weekend, and rightly so. They also have problems at the other end of the field, and Dwight Gayle could use a game here to get off the mark this season.
Nottingham Forest have had a decent start and they could give Newcastle a tough game. Daryl Murphy will be desperate to start and score at his old side where he didn’t get much of a look-in last season. We could be in for a shock at St James’ Park.
Southampton had to win the game twice against West Ham on Saturday, but it was a great result for them, especially after going for so long without scoring at home. Their run to the final last year proves they take this competition seriously, and they’ll fancy their chances again.
Wolves suffered a first defeat of the season at the weekend and, with promotion the priority, you imagine there will be a few changes made like by most teams. Home win for me.
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