Preston vs Man City: Man City (-2) – 5/6
Preston have started the league season very well and may finally be in a position to put a promotion push together.
They have had a promising side for a number of years and narrowly missed out on the top six in 2018, but after collecting 16 points from their opening eight games, Preston find themselves just one point from the Championship summit.
It matters little against this opposition though, especially against a City side seemingly hellbent on avenging their shock defeat to Norwich last week by hammering every team they face into submission.
It appeared inevitable that they would breach the double-digit mark against Watford on Saturday after they notched five goals in just 18 minutes, but they relented somewhat.
Pep Guardiola may rest players but, again, it matters little.
Such is the strength of City’s squad that a second-string team are more than capable of humiliating Preston and you’d fear the worst for the Championship club.
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest: Nottingham Forest (+1) – 15/8
This game is curious for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Arsenal played in the late kick-off on Sunday and have to play again on Tuesday evening, so Unai Emery is almost certainly going to rest players who just about beat Villa on Sunday.
Secondly, Nottingham Forest have proved extremely hard to beat on the road so far this season, drawing with Leeds and Charlton, while beating Swansea and Fulham – all of whom are in the early promotion shake-up.
Sabri Lamouchi has made Forest rigid and resilient in difficult venues and with the likes of Joe Lolley, Joao Carvalho and Lewis Grabban at his disposal, Lamouci has the talent to hurt teams on the counter.
He will doubtlessly employ a similar tactic against what is bound to be a young and inexperienced Arsenal starting XI, so this could be the shock of the round.
Colchester vs Tottenham: Over 3.5 goals – 19/20
Tottenham’s league season is in real danger of being over before it even started. Defeats against Leicester and Newcastle are unacceptable for a team that just four months ago contested the Champions League final.
Spurs appear to have regressed since that defeat to Liverpool, despite the acquisition of several exciting young players. It makes victory against League Two Colchester on Tuesday something of a necessity, simply to restore confidence if nothing else.
Colchester are currently 10th in the fourth tier of English football thanks to a patchy start to the season, but they have laid waste to London Premier League opposition already in the League Cup, thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Crystal Palace.
Tottenham will surely give youth players like Troy Parrott a chance on Tuesday and it should be an exciting game.
Spurs have already conceded 10 times in seven matches in all competitions this season and their defence has looked anything but watertight, but they are also capable of racking up a big total against their lower league opposition. We should hopefully see a goalfest in this one.
Watford vs Swansea: Watford to win – 8/15
Watford desperately require a win following that chastening defeat to City on Saturday and it doesn’t matter that it would be against lower league opposition.
In reality, only two places separate Watford and Swansea at the moment following an excellent start to the season from the Welsh club and an utterly dismal start from Watford.
The Hornets are winless after six games and need a confidence boost ahead of a potentially huge clash with Wolves at the weekend.
Swansea, on the other hand, could do without the distraction of the League Cup. They are currently second in the Championship and will need to concentrate all of their efforts on the league over the coming months.
Watford simply need to win this a lot more than Swansea do.
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