Watford will be looking to book their spot in the fourth round of the EFL Cup when they travel to League Two outfit Newport County in the third round of the competition on Tuesday night.
The Hornets beat Oxford United on penalties in round two to progress to this stage, while Newport have overcome Swansea City and Cambridge United in the opening two rounds.
Match preview
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Newport might not have been able to finish last season, but Mike Flynn's team have had an incredibly busy start to the 2020-21 campaign, already playing five matches across three separate competitions.
Indeed, they have overcome Swansea City and Cambridge United in the first two rounds of this season's EFL Cup to book their spot in the third round of the competition.
Newport also lost 1-0 to Cheltenham Town in the EFL Trophy earlier this month, but they have made an encouraging start to their 2020-21 League Two season, taking four points from their two games against Scunthorpe United and Barrow to occupy 10th spot in the table.
The Exiles lost to West Ham United in the second round of last season's EFL Cup but will be keen to continue their journey in the 2020-21 competition despite the fact that their league campaign is the priority.
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Watford, meanwhile, beat Oxford United on penalties after a 1-1 draw last week to ensure that they would be present in the third round of this season's EFL Cup.
The Hornets started their 2020-21 Championship campaign with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough on September 11 but were held to a goalless draw by Sheffield Wednesday in the league on Saturday.
Vladimir Ivic's side will be looking for an immediate return to the Premier League, but the Serbian has assembled such a big squad full of quality, meaning that a run in this competition would be welcomed.
Watford actually reached the fourth round of last season's EFL Cup before losing to Everton and will certainly be the favourites to progress from Tuesday's tie at Rodney Parade.
Newport County EFL Cup form: WW
Newport County form (all competitions): WLDWW
Watford EFL Cup form: W
Watford form (all competitions): WWD
Team News
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Newport boss Flynn is expected to again line his side up in a 3-5-2 formation on Tuesday, but there will be changes from the team that started in the league against Barrow on Saturday.
A new strike partnership could see Tristan Abrahams and Padraig Amond feature in the final third, while there is also likely to be a change in goal with Thomas King coming in for Nick Townsend.
That said, the back three could remain unchanged from Saturday, with Brandon Cooper keeping his spot.
As for Watford, Andre Gray, Isaac Success, Ismaila Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu are still on the sidelines through injury, but there are expected to be wholesale changes from the side that faced Wednesday.
The XI will have a familiar look to the one that started against Oxford in the last round, although there could be a change in midfield with on-loan Manchester United youngster James Garner coming in for his full debut.
Jerome Sinclair should be handed another chance to impress in the final third of the field, while Daniel Bachmann will come in for Ben Foster between the sticks.
Newport County possible starting lineup:
King; Howkins, Cooper, Demetriou; Shephard, Willmott, Sheehan, Twine, Haynes; Amond, Abrahams
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Navarro, Sierralta, Agyakwa, Wilmot, Stevenson; Phillips, Garner, Quina; Sinclair, Perica
We say: Newport County 1-2 Watford
Newport are certainly capable of making it an uncomfortable night for Watford, but it is difficult to look past the Championship outfit, who will be able to put better quality on the field. We are not expecting a comfortable away success but fancy the Hornets to progress to the fourth round of the competition.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newport County win with a probability of 41.18%. A win for Watford had a probability of 31.53% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newport County win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.49%) and 2-0 (7.61%). The likeliest Watford win was 0-1 (9.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.9%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Newport County would win this match.
