If you wanted a game between two completely contrasting teams right now then these two can certainly offer it. At Nottingham Forest the goal is simple, the reach the Premier League, and they are spending money to give themselves the best chance of doing that. When it comes to Newcastle, I don’t really think anyone knows what the goal is, but one thing is for sure, they are not doing anything much to progress at the moment, something that has really annoyed their fans.

While the main focus for Forest this season is clearly the league, they will fancy a cup run too, and will see a wounded animal in front of them when they take to the field against Newcastle on Wednesday. There is no doubt that Newcastle are there for the taking if Forest want this, and with The Magpies yet to win this season, confidence is sure to be low amongst the players.

Nottingham Forest haven’t started how they would have wanted in the Championship, but the key thing is that they remain unbeaten. One win and four draws have come in their first five games, which will be frustrating for them, but it does show that they can compete in the Championship and they will be looking to turn some of their draws into wins as we move into September. If they can do that, there is no reason to think they can’t climb the table and compete with many others for promotion this season.

Have the Bookmakers got the Favourite Right?

Games between teams at the top of the Championship and bottom of the Premier League are often the hardest for bookmakers to price up. You generally get a good team, who are in good form and playing well, against a team of better quality, but one that is struggling to perform and pick up points on a regular basis. This makes it very difficult for them to price up, and I think they have got things slightly wrong with this game.

The bookmakers have priced up Newcastle as the favourites to win the game, with Nottingham Forest at a generous 2.90. Newcastle have not being able to strengthen their squad much this summer, missing out on transfer targets so the depth at the club isn’t huge. They are yet to win in the league, so they will want to rest some players in this game for their Premier League game next weekend. That means it is likely we will see a sprinkling of youngsters on the field for Newcastle, players that simply can’t keep up with the strength Nottingham Forest have.

Forest are also expected to give their fringe players a run out in this game, but they have a number of players who are desperate to impress after not receiving too many opportunities to break into the team so far. Having said that, I do think that Forest will play more first team players than Newcastle here, they will see this game as a way of kickstarting their season and getting a win on board before going back to Championship action at the weekend.

What Has Gone Wrong at Newcastle?

Newcastle are split into three right now, with the fans, the manager Rafa Benitez and owner Mike Ashley all on different pages. Benitez has shown his frustration at the lack of signings this summer on more than one occasion, something that has put the majoirty of the fans on his side of the arguement with Mike Ashley. There are a few fans that remain in the middle, supprting neither Benitez or Ashley, but the majoirty are against their owner right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc_YkpozNuY

As you can see from the video above, the vocal section of the Newcastle support is certainly against Mike Ashley right now, and they want him removed from the club. Something that hit the headlines away from football during the summer was Ashley’s purchase of the department store House of Fraser for a reported £90 million. This came after the fans had heard about missed transfer targets from manager Rafa Benitez and the fans didn’t take it well. They saw the move as Ashley spending money on his own future investments, rather than investing in the football club and buying some players to allow them to compete further up the Premier League table.

Whatever the reason for not backing Benitez, it is clear that Mike Ashley has not invested as much money into the squad at Newcastle as many fans think he should. A continuation of their poor start is only going to see tensions rise at the club, and scenes like the one above where fans are protesting against their owner are likely to become a more regular sight.

Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle Betting Tips

Things appear to be going very well for Forest at the moment, despite winning just one of their opening five league games. They do remain unbeaten however, and have shown great promise in games. All they need to do now is turn some of those draws into wins and they look set to climb the table and challenge. A big win against a Premier League club would certainly help club morale and could be the kickstart they need to get things going this season.

The same cannot be said about Newcastle, who at the moment look nothing but a mess. Things have not been good enough on the pitch so far, and they are yet to win a game. Couple that with the problems off the field that they are facing right now and it is easy to see why so many Newcastle fans are so frustrated that they are protesting against Mike Ashley and his running of the club. The Magpies are a big club, but unfortunately they look in trouble right now, and it is going to take a lot more than a Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest to turn things around.

The betting on this game is relatively close,but the bookmakers have made Newcastle favourites to win the tie. I don’t think this is right, and that makes Nottingham Forest a good value bet to beat them on Wednesday. I expected to see these two priced up around the same price to win the game, so the price on Forest did surprise me. I’ll happily take that, and they look to have a very good chance of beating Premier League opposition in a game they are likely to take more seriously than their opponents Newcastle.

Based on the current situations at each team, and the odds on offer, Nottingham Forest are the best bet on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup.

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