Scotland Betfred League Cup question

[allthethings]

Hi, the competition has gone from a straight KO to a meandering, group-play tournament, and I'm wondering what people think about the ridiculously high odds on underdogs that we're seeing. Yes, Premier sides should beat League Two sides, but it's preseason and I wonder how many matches we'll see like the one in Arbroath today.

[malabgd]

Rangers FC v Annan Athletic

Rangers FC: Joe Dodoo (f, newcomer, probably out), Jordan Rossiter (0/0 m, U19 national selection), Matt Crooks (0/0 m)

Annan Athletic: no absences

 

Brechin City v Stirling Albion

Brechin City (last season): Paul McLean (29/1 d)

Stirling Albion: Ross McGeachie (0/0 d), Aurelien Mazel (0/0 m)(both probably out), Ross Smith (0/0 d, suspended)

 

Daily updated injuries and suspensions information from more then 90 football leagues and competitions at: www.injuriesandsuspensions.com

[StevieDay1983]

On 16/07/2016, 05:54:04, allthethings said:

Hi, the competition has gone from a straight KO to a meandering, group-play tournament, and I'm wondering what people think about the ridiculously high odds on underdogs that we're seeing. Yes, Premier sides should beat League Two sides, but it's preseason and I wonder how many matches we'll see like the one in Arbroath today.

I think you raise an interesting point, allthethings. It is particularly interesting because this is a competition that is mainly considered the lowest on the priority order for the bigger teams so a number of them may see it as a chance to field weaker teams. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a number of shocks.

[matrixman]

Well only one big shock last round with falkirk losing.13 more games today with most teams on three days rest so I personally think the upsets may start happening with more regularity.All group games are being played in a space of two weeks which screams big clubs fielding weaker sides which equals value on the minnows.

[StevieDay1983]

On 19/07/2016, 14:31:28, matrixman said:

Well only one big shock last round with falkirk losing.13 more games today with most teams on three days rest so I personally think the upsets may start happening with more regularity.All group games are being played in a space of two weeks which screams big clubs fielding weaker sides which equals value on the minnows.

This focus on upsets does beg the question. Can a side outside of the SPL win this competition? Or will the more intense early stages kill it for the smaller teams and it's more likely to be won by a lower-placed SPL team than the usual big guns?

[allthethings]

There have been very few shocks, as it turns out. Last round upcoming and based on what I've been seeing I think you could do well with accumulators on favorites. In the last round, only one match interests me: Falkirk-Brechin. Falkirk are big home favorites but they have zero chance of being one of the four best second-place sides, even with a win, while Brechin actually do have a shot at the KO round. Ordinarily I'd wonder if the home side would rotate, but as I said, very few shocks to this point.