Football Bet of the Day: Tranmere search for success

All the action may be on the key international qualifiers tonight, as England look to secure their place at next year’s World Cup. However, in the hunt for value in our Football Bet of the Day, we’ve dropped down to look at the EFL Trophy.

Tranmere Rovers host Nottingham Forest U21 at Prenton Park (19:00), and it is this fixture that has caught my eye.

Football Odds

The EFL Trophy used to be a wonderful competition. A chance for teams from League 1 and League 2 to get to Wembley, and it carried a level of weight too. Sure, it was never the top of any club’s priority list, but winning the EFL Trophy and promotion marked an incredibly successful season.

Today's Football Fixtures

It still does, in some sense, but the waters have been muddied by the introduction of the Premier League academy teams. There’s 16 in the tournament this year, one in each regionalised four-team group, and they are all absolutely rubbish. That’s not me trying to be offensive or bold, they just simply cannot compete with even the poorest League 2 teams. 

Across the board, they have been poor this season. Liverpool U21s were beaten 2-0 by Burton Albion, Chelsea U21s lost 3-1 to a Shrewsbury Town team that sit 21st in the fourth tier and Fulham U21 lost 4-1 to Gillingham. Only Manchester City, of the 16 U21 teams so far, have managed to record a win in this tournament in 2025/26.

No U21 team has ever won this tournament, or even reached the final, so it always makes sense in my opinion to back against them from a betting perspective. Even though the EFL teams make plenty of changes, the gap in experience and physicality makes it extremely difficult for these youngsters to get results. 

Tranmere Rovers have played six League 2 matches so far, winning two, drawing two and losing two - while they drew 2-2 with Burton in their opening group game of this competition before losing on penalties to miss out on the bonus point. 

Tranmere vs Nottingham Forest U21 Odds

Tranmere are a solid fourth-tier outfit while Nottingham Forest U21 lost to Tottenham Hotspur U21 in their last outing. They are nothing special, and so we can expect Tranmere to dominate this game, as has been the case for the other senior teams in this competition. 

However, to extend our odds slightly I will back Forest to find the net. Both teams have scored in five of the last six Tranmere matches in all competitions, and I can see their defence conceding once against these Premier League youngsters. 

Tranmere to beat Nottingham Forest U21 in the EFL Trophy, with BTTS, is Tuesday’s Football Bet of the Day.

Football Bet Of The Day from Betfred Insights.