Until recently Grimsby was best known for having once been the home port of the largest fishing fleet in the world and the subject of a so-so comedy film starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong.
Oh, there was also the fun football fact that the local team don’t actually play in Grimsby but in nearby Cleethorpes, which has been the staple of countless pub quizzes.
The outfit based at Blundell Park are currently sixth in League Two but although that represents a solid start they have won just one of their last three matches, losing 3-2 at Crewe on Saturday when they presumably had one eye on this week’s Carabao Cup encounter with Premier League Brentford.
The cup competition catapulted the Mariners onto the back pages after their stunning penalty shoot-out success against Manchester United which left Ruben Amorim facing major questions about his ability to last the course in the Old Trafford hotseat.
They then took another scalp when they beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough to reach the fourth round for the first time since the 2001/2002 season and if they can beat the Bees they will be in the draw for the last eight for the first time in 40 years.
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Perhaps their cup conquests shouldn’t come as a shock as Grimsby reached the FA Cup quarter-finals a couple of years ago after seeing off Burton in the third round, then knocking out Championship Luton after a replay in the next phase and Premier League Southampton in the fifth round before Brighton ended the fun-filled journey by walloping them 5-0 on the south coast.
Brentford may have looked a decent draw when the two names were pulled out of the drum last month, but manager Keith Andrews has taken this year’s competition seriously, fielding teams strong enough to win at Bournemouth before defeating visiting Aston Villa on penalties.
Before that shoot-out success they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at home and despite promptly losing 3-1 at Fulham they beat Manchester United 3-1 at home then gave Manchester City a run for their money in a 1-0 defeat before the international break.
Since the return to Premier League action the Bees have won 2-0 at West Ham before a celebrating a thoroughly deserved 3-2 success against Liverpool on Saturday which has piled more misery on Reds manager Arne Slot.
Grimsby will be fired up for this and led 2-0 at the break when they entertained United but the Bees are in fantastic form and are 21/20 with BoyleSports to lead HT/FT and the same price with William Hill to win by more than one goal.
Prolific Igor Thiago is 7/2 with bet365 to break the deadlock while Kevin Schade hit the bar against the Hammers and hit the net against Liverpool and is 13/8 with the same firm to score at any time.
American Football odds
Kansas City Chiefs are perennial Super Bowl contenders and can celebrate another win by seeing off the Washington Commanders in the NFL’s Monday Night Football encounter at Arrowhead Stadium.
The visitors have lost three out of four and star passer Jayden Daniels is ruled out with a hamstring strain so take the Chiefs to win by more than a touchdown at 23/20 with Ladbrokes and Coral. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 3/1 with bet365 to run in a touchdown.
Baseball bets
Defending champions the Los Angeles Dodgers return home with this year’s World Series tied 1-1 after Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a complete game to help his side to a 5-1 victory in Toronto.
The Blue Jays stunned the Dodgers with an 11-4 win in game one in Canada on Friday but won’t have a prayer in the City of Angels, with the Dodgers 11/10 with 888Sport to win game three by more than one run.
