Lincoln City vs. West Ham prediction: Bet on underdog

September 27, 2023

The early stages of the EFL Cup are always tricky to handicap.

This tournament is clearly the last priority compared to the FA Cup, Premier League title or European competitions like the Champions League.

Early EFL Cup matches are often treated like glorified friendlies.

Managers will experiment with lineups, play the kids and try to rotate in players who are rehabbing from injuries.

All of this adds up to a lot of variance, which makes laying big prices risky.

But for the underdogs, especially teams from the lower divisions of English Football, the EFL Cup is a massive opportunity to play against, and defeat, some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Lincoln City will fancy its chances to become the latest long shot to score a famous victory when it hosts West Ham on Wednesday.

The Hammers come into the match off a disappointing 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday and will be playing their third match in less than a week, part of a total of seven in three weeks.

It wouldn’t be a shock to see David Moyes play a “B-team” in this spot and rest up his regulars for a busy couple of weeks ahead.