Tuesday's EFL Cup first-round predictions and free football tips

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports+, 7.45pm Tuesday

Best bets

Swansea to beat Gillingham
2pts 8-13 general

Oxford to beat Peterborough
1pt 13-10 Hills, Paddy Power

Burton draw no bet v Blackpool
1pt 7-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

Tuesday's EFL Cup predictions

Swansea have won four of their last five home EFL Cup ties, which includes cruising past League One Northampton 3-0 in the opening round last season, and they can strut their Championship class against fourth-tier Gillingham.

The Swans suffered a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in their Championship curtain-raiser on Saturday but Boro are candidates to challenge for promotion and the Welsh club had far more possession than their opponents.

Swansea favour a possession-based approach under manager Luke Williams and that should stand them in good stead against their lower-league opponents.

Gills were emphatic 4-1 winners over Carlisle in their opening game of the League Two season but that may be a touch flattering given they lost the shot stats 18-14 and the Swans are unlikely to be so wasteful.

Oxford dumped out Peterborough in the League One playoff semi-finals last season, winning the home leg 1-0, and they can repeat the trick in the opening round of the EFL Cup at the Kassam Stadium.

Oxford had thrashed Posh 5-0 a month prior to their playoff showdown and they should be in high spirits after celebrating a 2-0 home victory in their Championship opener with Norwich on Saturday.

Peterborough, on the other hand, were beaten 2-0 at home to Huddersfield in their first game of the League One season - they lost the shot count 17-8 - and it seems the summer departures of star men Harrison Burrows, Ronnie Edwards, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Ephron Mason-Clark may take some getting used to.

With Posh also having injuries to Hector Kyprianou, Ryan De Havilland and Rio Adebisi to contend with, the U’s are overpriced to make the most of their familiar surroundings.

Blackpool suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at League One new boys Crawley on Saturday and they look worth opposing on the road at Burton, who showed plenty of positives in their 3-2 loss at home to Lincoln.

The Tangerines have now lost ten of their last 15 away games in League One, which includes a 1-0 reverse at Burton last season, while six of their last eight EFL Cup ties have resulted in defeat.

Burton manager Mark Robinson wants his side to play exciting football and there were encouraging signs against Lincoln, who had only 33 per cent of the possession but scored with all three of their shots on target.

All 32 of Tuesday's first-round matches are set to be shown live on Sky Sports+, a new dedicated streaming platform available to subscribers.

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