Capital One Cup Tips: Second-tier guests to limit Man City and Stoke

Both matches kick-off at 19:45

Man City 1.261/4 v Hull 13.525/2; The Draw 7.26/1

Man City's previous nine home games have all delivered three goals or more, but instead of being intimidated by the idea of taking that streak on, this column views the prospect of landing odds of 2.568/5 on a rare appearance of under 2.5 goals as an irresistible opportunity.

Hull are every bit as committed to supplying unders as Man City are to serving up overs, if not more given that 15 of their last 17 fixtures in all competitions and at all venues have finished with two strikes or fewer. Even the two exceptions were occasions where they kept clean sheets yet scored three, and such a prolific display isn't anticipated at the Etihad Stadium.

The most compelling trend though is that the Tigers have imposed their way on the Premier League leaders before, with their past three trips to the Etihad - two of which were in the last two seasons - falling short of 2.5 goals, the latest being a 1-1 draw in February during their relegation campaign.

Recommended Bet: Back under 2.5 goals @ 2.568/5

Stoke 1.865/6 v Sheffield Wednesday 5.04/1; The Draw 3.7511/4

You probably don't need the same amount of convincing to back under 2.5 goals in Stoke v Sheffield Wednesday as you might for Man City v Hull, but the case is similarly strong.

Stoke are an unders backer's best friend right now, contesting eight straight matches in which the scoring stopped on two if not even earlier, and 13 in 15 over a longer period. All three of their Capital One Cup ties went low, with just three goals netted before the 90th minute across the lot.

Ryan Shawcross is suspended, though it would be a mistake to assume that they only started shutting out opponents when he returned from injury, as they actually achieved three in five right before his recall.

Sheffield Wednesday have been breached once across six hours of Capital One Cup action this term, and that was 45 minutes into the process, with the sole away venture to a Premier League team - Newcastle - settling on a single goal.

Recommended Bet: Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.84/5