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2012-08-28 - Sheffield Wednesday vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Capital One Cup Second Round
Tuesday 28 August 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday have made a solid start to life in the Championship and they remain unbeaten under the guidance of Dave Jones, but there are a couple of areas they will look to improve going forward. For now, the home fans get the pleasure of hosting a Premier League club in the Capital One Cup.
The team have started off with 7 points from their first 3 games in the Championship having earned promotion from League One last season, but Dave Jones will want to see some improvement from a defence that conceded at least 2 goals in each of those games as well as during the 2-4 win over Oldham Athletic in the first round of this competition. However, he will surely be pleased that Wednesday have managed to stay unbeaten as that means the attacking side of the game is doing well.
The Owls have won both of their games at Hillsborough to start off the season, beating Birmingham City and Millwall, both by the same 3-2 scoreline. Sheffield Wednesday are now unbeaten in their last 10 games at home, winning 9 of those, and they have scored at least 2 home goals in 9 straight games.
Anthony Gardner missed the win over Millwall at the weekend, but may return to the side in this one. There are no other injury concerns, but it will be interesting whether Dave Jones decides to make some changes to freshen up the side after a tough start to the season.
Fulham
When it comes to picking a dark horse to win a Cup competition (teams outside of the top 6 in the Premier League), Fulham are rarely mentioned because of a poor away record that can see them come up short. However, their start to this Premier League season does indicate they could be a force to reckon with in any one off match this season.
Fulham have begun the season with a win and a loss, but they were impressive in the second half of a 3-2 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford and they definitely look like they have goals in the side with 7 from their first two games. They have also managed to get through to the third round of this competition in 6 of the last 7 seasons.
They are still looking for more consistency in their away games, although the positives from the game at Old Trafford does bode well for their future. Fulham have now lost 8 of their last 11 away games, although all of those were in the Premier League. Fulham have lost 4 of their last 5 games in this competition, although 2 of those losses came after they had finished the regulation time with a draw.
Clint Dempsey is still missing from the squad as he pushes to be sold ahead of the transfer window closing, while Philippe Senderos is still injured. Martin Jol is expected to rest some of his first team players.
Head to Head
Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham met each other in the 2008/09 FA Cup, a game Fulham won at Hillsborough 1-2 thanks to a late winner.
They hadn't met before that Cup tie since the 2000/01 season when they played out two League draws in the second tier of English football.
Sheffield Wednesday had been unbeaten in 5 home games against Fulham before that loss in the FA Cup.
Prediction
This does look a game that has the making of a Cup upset, but I am going back to the well and backing over 2.5 goals, at odds against, in a Sheffield Wednesday home game for the third straight time.
Wednesday have been scoring and conceding for fun in their opening four games this season in all competitions, and Fulham have looked a side that is capable of getting on the scoreboard in their own games.
The changes in personnel that Martin Jol is looking to make may give the edge to Sheffield Wednesday, but I still think Fulham will create chances as they look to reach the third round again.
A winner is tough to call, but both defences look like they will give their opponents chances and both attacks look capable of exploiting that and so the goals flowing looks the best way to get on this game.
The Pick :
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Fulham
