Carling Cup betting preview
Manchester City v Arsenal 7.45pm
You might remember what happened the last time that these teams met! Emmanuel Adebayor was the villain of the piece, with his goal celebration in front of the Arsenal supporters and a stamp on Robin Van Persie making him public enemy number one. The striker will be looking to inflict more damage (not literally!) on his former club this week and William Hill go 6/4 that the Togolese striker finds the net at any stage. He’s also 13/2 (Blue Square) to break the deadlock and potentially help his team through to the Carling Cup semi-finals.
The pressure is certainly on Mark Hughes to deliver after a string of Premier League draws has erased any hopes of landing the title this season. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Hull leaves them fourteen points behind Chelsea and this competition almost certainly represents their best chance of silverware this season. Bet Fred are the only firm to offer even money about the Citizens winning in ninety minutes and their price could shorten when the team news starts to emerge. However, if you think City are set for another draw, then this outcome is 5/2 (Stan James), something which would see the game go into extra-time.
Arsenal have a strong recent record in this competition, despite fielding a reserve team all the way through to the later stages. Arsene Wenger will once again give his youngsters a chance to strut their stuff and Coral offer 10/3 that they take advantage of a nervy City defence and go through to the semi-finals. If the selection against Liverpool in the previous round is anything to go by, then Fran Merida (20/1 Coral) and Sanchez Watt (10/1 Bet Fred) might get the chance to shine, although the Gunners are potless since 2005 and perhaps there could be some first-teamers that make the trip.
This game looks the type to yield goals and Blue Square’s 4/5 that there are three or more scored looks the ticket. Blue Square also offer the best odds on City managing a repeat 4-2 victory over their opponents and the Arsenal defence is currently looking vulnerable against decent strikers. Craig Bellamy (7/1 Bet Fred) will be chomping at the bit after being dropped for the Hull match, although Mark Hughes might continue with Robinho (7/1 William Hill) and Carlos Tevez (15/2 William Hill) as he searches for that winning formula.
Blackburn v Chelsea 8pm
Despite a best price of 8/15 (Ladbrokes), the Blues look easy to back for this encounter. Carlo Ancelotti has a nice big squad to rotate and we should expect to see Michael Ballack (12/1 Bet Fred), Deco (14/1 Coral) and Salomon Kalou (5/1 Stan James) line up for this match. All three will be fresh after being on the bench against Arsenal, with Chelsea currently building up a head of steam as we head into the Christmas period.
Blackburn might well have their work cut out against the Premier League leaders, although Rovers are available at 6/1 (bet365) if you fancy them to pull off an upset. Sam Allardyce will be absent from the touchline once again, while David Dunn and Franco Di Santo miss out. The Lancashire side were pummelled 5-0 by the same opponents in the league a few weeks ago and the Blues to lead at half-time and full-time looks tempting at 13/10 (Paddy Power).
