Tottenham v Nottingham Forest: Spurs slump to persist

Stuart Pearce's Nottingham Forest are top of the Championship

Tottenham are far too short to overcome undefeated Nottingham Forest in the Capital One Cup, argues Michael Lintorn...

Tottenham v Nottingham Forest
Wednesday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 1

Match Odds: Tottenham 1.695/7, Nottingham Forest 5.85/1, The Draw 4.216/5

Bright new dawns don't outstay their welcome at White Hart Lane, which is why four successive wins to mark the start of Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham reign have made way for four games without one, during which they have fired three blanks.

The post-match boos greeting the home loss to Premier League bottom club West Brom were louder than anticipated, as if panic that another unimpressive campaign is in danger of unfolding suddenly engulfed the stadium.

Amidst such a backdrop, a convincing victory over a lower-league team would seem the perfect way to calm fans fretting after flops against Liverpool and West Brom, but Pochettino doesn't have a great relationship with cup competitions.

Burnley were the sole side that his Southampton squad eliminated in either the FA Cup or Capital One Cup last term who are currently in the top two divisions, with both challenges ended away to relegation-threatened Sunderland.

In Spain, just one of Espanyol's four Copa del Rey assaults that he oversaw from the beginning went as far as the quarter-finals and the one time that he did guide them that far in 2011/12, they were shown up by third-tier club Mirandes over two legs.

Tottenham have been dealt the toughest lower-league draw possible against Championship leaders Nottingham Forest, who are unbeaten in ten outings under their new boss Stuart Pearce, winning seven of those.

Given the prominence of upsets in the Capital One Cup - Premier League quartet Man United, West Ham, Aston Villa and Leicester were all knocked out by teams from League One or below in the last round - you will have to be really resolute to resist the chance to lay Spurs at odds as short as 1.75/7.

Both teams to score? No

Forest were involved in an epic 5-3 triumph over Fulham this time last week, but much of their early progress has been understated, built on six clean sheets from ten. They were the only side on the scoresheet in both Capital One Cup ties to date, and both teams have netted in a mere two of Spurs' eight 2014/15 fixtures.

Best Bet: Lay Tottenham to win @ 1.75/7
Other Recommended Bet: Back both teams to score? No @ 2.35/4