Football ACCA Tips: 18/1 treble to liven up the League Cup

There’s potential for two huge League Cup upsets on Wednesday, as both Harrogate and Salford travel to Premier League opposition with chances to book their place in the third round. Both of those games are live on Sky Sports with Harrogate’s trip to West Brom live at 6pm, before Salford City set sail down the Mersey to take on Everton at 8:15pm.

Manchester City have won the competition on the last three occasions, and if we look back further, their impressive record stretches to five triumphs in the last seven seasons. Pep Guardiola’s side are the current 3/1 favourites for the tournament in the League Cup winner market, with Liverpool second in the betting at 5/1 with William Hill.

There’s six games across Wednesday evening in the second round of the League Cup and I’ve picked out an 18/1 treble with Betfair as part of my football tips this week.

The first of the games I’ve selected comes at 7:45pm in a Yorkshire derby where Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds face Hull at Elland Road. Leeds are a rather short looking 4/11 in the match betting to come out triumphant inside 90 minutes, although I’ve decided to try and snaffle a little bit more of a price and have opted for a Leeds win and both teams to score.

The highlight of the opening weekend of the Premier League was undoubtedly Leeds’ 4-3 loss to Liverpool at Anfield. One of the best games in opening day history, Leeds thoroughly lived up to the hype and expectation that now surrounds this side. They played confident attacking football and repeatedly found holes in Liverpool's back line. The champions looked miles away defensively, from the levels they have been setting over the last two seasons and all credit must go to the visitors. Marcelo Bielsa will make a couple of changes here but is expected to name a relatively strong starting eleven to face Hull on Wednesday.

Spanish striker Rodrigo Moreno is expected to start his first game for the club after the manager showed his loyalty to Patrick Bamford, starting him from the off in the game at the weekend. Hull were relegated from the Championship last season and started life in League One with a 2-0 win over Gillingham at the weekend. The loss of Jarrod Bowen in January proved to be monumental over the second half of last season and it may take them some time to adjust to their new division. I’m fully expecting Leeds to come out on top here and I think they could put a good few past Hull. The outright win on Leeds looks too short here with the unpredictability of team news in the League Cup. At 9/4 as a single, Leeds to win and both teams to score looks the much more attractive play.

The second part of this three-pronged punt comes in the form of Southampton to win and both teams to score against Brentford. The Saints welcome the Bees to the south coast after visiting the capital themselves at the weekend, where they were turned over 1-0 by Crystal Palace. After ending the season on a high, many pundits have tipped Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side to perform well in the coming months, with an eye towards the top-half of the table. 

Southampton’s high pressing nature can be a real problem for the opposition at times and they come up against a Brentford side on Wednesday who have played attractive football over recent years. They narrowly missed out on being promoted in the play-off final this summer and now have lost star striker Ollie Watkins. Thomas Frank’s side have lost key men before and I still believe they will be right up there this year in the Championship, once again pushing for automatic promotion.  

Said Benrahma will miss the game through injury but I’m confident that Brian Mbuemo and new signing Ivan Toney can cause problems for the hosts in the final third. Southampton are expected to make wholesale changes here and I think the lack of playing together as a back four will allow Brentford into the game. The match could potentially be won through the quality that lies on Southampton’s bench. Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse will be poised to come on if needed and they could be the difference in the second half. At 3/1 I’m happy to add Southampton to win and both teams to score into this treble.

The final game involved in this 18/1 shot for Wednesday evening kicks off at 8:15pm with Everton welcoming Salford to Goodison Park. There will be a lot of attention surrounding the game with the Class of 92’s involvement with the club and the progress they have made over the past few years. I see Everton coming out on top quite easily here though and I’m willing to back them at -1 on the match handicap, meaning if the Toffees win by two goals or more, this selection will land.

James Rodriguez was superb on debut for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in their 1-0 away win at Tottenham on Sunday and with his lack of football over the last year or two, he could well feature against Salford. Youngsters Anthony Gordon, Jonjo Kenny and Jarrod Branthwaite are all expected to come into the Everton starting line up. 

I expect Salford to start the game by putting in some hard challenges as they try to upset the rhythm of Everton. With the likes of Moise Kean, Theo Walcott and Gylfi Siggurdsson all predicted to start the game it’s sure to be a stern test for the club who in 2014 were still playing in the Northern Premier League. Everton’s superiority should really show in the second half as the visitors start to tire with a convincing win for the home side on the cards. Everton -1 on the match handicap looks the appropriate bet here to finish off this 18/1 treble that, at the time of writing is top priced with Betfair. 

Good luck to those following and always remember to gamble responsibly.