Wednesday’s Top Tips: ‘Swich It Up in Carabao Cup

It's one of those midweek nights of football that has you yearning for an 11pm airing of the legendary Harry Carpenter on Sportsnight; “Our main action tonight features six League Cup games in England and a handful of top flight matches in Scotland…”

Alas, we'll need to make do with the banality of Sky Sports' so-called pundits updating us with goals as they go in across the country. Let's see if we can pick out a few games to keep an eye on.

Betting on the Carabao Cup is fraught with difficulty for punters at the best of times as managers utlisie their squads and form often goes out the proverbial window.

Mikel Arteta has insisted that it's an important trophy for Arsenal and if you witnessed West Ham‘s ineffective display against Everton at the weekend you couldn't help but be tempted by the 11/10 on the Gunners.

Liverpool are just 1/2 to win at Bournemouth. That's the kind of price you'd expect to see for a Premier League match between the two but it's unlikely to be a Premier League strength Reds' XI so they look best left alone at those odds.

Chelsea are another side who look suspiciously short at 2/9 to beat mid-table Championship side Blackburn Rovers. The Blues' form this season means they shouldn't be 2/9 to beat anyone!

Fulham face a tricky tie at Portman Road where Ipswich Town will be out to prove they can mix it with the big boys again after disposing of Wolves in the previous round. Kieran McKenna has done a brilliant job with the Tractor Boys whom he has second in the table and on an 11-match unbeaten run.

The Cottagers have had a very average start to the season and sit 14th in the table. Their only three wins have come against teams below them; Everton (15th), Luton Town (18th) and Sheffield United (20th) which doesn't bode well.

There'll be plenty of punters tempeted in to the 9/4 about the Championship side.

Match of the night should be at Old Trafford where it's a repeat of last season's final, in which Manchester United beat Newcastle 2-0 to lift the trophy.

The Magpies are set to be without six first-team players, as Eddie Howe also prepares for key games in the next week against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.

Erik ten Hag has a few absentees to contend with also as his side look to bounce back from a one-sided 3-0 defeat in the Manchester Derby.

On paper it looks like the Red Devils might be able to rotate with greater quality, with the likes of Mason Mount, Rafael Varane and Sergio Reguilon all pushing for a start and ten Hag really needs a result here to try to keep the fans onside. The nature of Sunday's derby demolition was unacceptable and at 11/10 tonight we could see a reaction from the cup holders against a depleted Newcastle side who have their eyes on bigger prizes this season.

In Scotland its 1st v 3rd at Celtic Park as the champions welcome story-of-the-season St Mirren who are still keeping pace with the big two from Glasgow.

A 4-0 win over St Johnstone on Saturday underlined a fantastic start to the season by Stephen Robinson's side and they'll travel to the east end of Glasgow full of confidence that they can take something back to Paisley at healthy odds of 12/1 to win or 6/1 the draw.

Celtic huffed and puffed at Easter Road on Saturday but couldn't break down the Hibees' defensive wall, exposing a lack of creativity without the inventive Reo Hatate who's been ruled out until Christmas. It was the fourth time Celtic had drawn blank this season and it'll no doubt be in the Buddies' gameplan to keep Brendan Rodgers' side at bay for as long as possible.

The atmosphere could be a bit muted following the indefinite ban on fan group, the Green Brigade, which could play in to St Mirren's hands too. No goal before the 24th minute has it's appeal at 5/6.

Rangers were just as insipid against Hearts at the weekend but got out of jail thanks to a 91st minute penalty and a dramatic winner by Danilo three minutes later. They make the trip to Dundee who are up in to fifth after a good win at Livi on Saturday.

Despite the Dens Park side's good start to the season they've come up short against Celtic and St Mirren so far and will likely do so again tonight against the Gers. A Rangers win to nil looks a good option at 6/4.

St Johnstone relived Steven MacLean of his duties after that defeat in Paisley on Saturday which left them winless in nine matches. That will probably become 10 tonight. Kilmarnock impressively saw off Aberdeen on Sunday and on paper look the shout in this one at 13/10 but they've yet to win away from home in the league, a problem that plagued their campaign last season so think carefully before ploughing in to Derek McInnes' men against the wounded Saints.

Arsenal loanee Mika Biereth made an impressive return to action for Motherwell in their 3-3 draw at home to Ross County and he looks like he could be the spark that Well have been missing since the departure of Kevin Van Veen.

Tonight they welcome Aberdeen to Fir Park and Barry Robson is increasingly becoming a man under scrutiny. The Dons sit second bottom of the table with just two wins and their European campaign is shaping up to a tale of disappointment.

The bookies see Motherwell edging this one but a better angle could be goals. With added impetus in the shape of Biereth, Motherwell should be more potent in front of goal and in dire need of a win to kickstart their season Aberdeen will need to throw some caution to the wind which could lead to an entertaining encounter in which Over 2.5 Goals pays 19/20.

Upcoming Match Previews & Tip

• Wed 19:30 West Ham United vs Arsenal
• Wed 19:45 Celtic vs St Mirren
• Wed 19:45 Dundee vs Rangers
• Wed 19:45 Ipswich Town vs Fulham
• Wed 19:45 Everton vs Burnley
• Wed 19:45 Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers
• Wed 19:45 AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool
• Wed 20:15 Manchester United vs Newcastle United

Super Singles

• Ipswich to win 9/4 Bet365
• Man Utd to win 11/10 Bet365
• Celtic v St Mirren – No Goal before 24:00 5/6 Bet365
• Rangers win to nil 6/4 Bet365
• Motherwell v Aberdeen – Over 2.5 Goals 19/20 Bet365

Horse Racing Tips

For the start of the new month Rizzel has picked out three fancies who all run at Fakenham.

• Racing tips: Headstrong Magistrato could take some reeling back around Fakenham

As ever, please share your tips in for today in the comments section below.

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