The Carling Cup has reached the last eight stage and it is a sign of how seriously clubs take the competition nowadays that virtually all of the big Premier League names are at the head of the betting. It is Manchester United who take outright favouritism at this stage, with Bet 365 going 2/1, although Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal remain in the mix.
United have won two of the last three Carling Cup finals and Sir Alex Ferguson has taken the opportunity to field his reserve players in recent seasons. The likes of Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov are given the chance to excel and the draw has been extremely kind to them this year as they take on Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
Palace are the big outsiders to win the tournament at 80/1 and even though Man City may have overtaken United in the betting to win the Premier League, United remain marginal favourites to win the Carling Cup for a fifth time.
City are a 5/2 bet to win the tournament for the first time since 1976. They of course ended a long trophy drought with their FA Cup win over Stoke last season and they look set to add a few more trophies to the cabinet in the coming years. They too have the option of fielding a reserve side and they have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal, as was shown when they defeated Wolves 5-2 in the last round.
Roberto Mancini's side host Arsenal in the last eight and Arsene Wenger's men will be keen to erase some bitter memories from this competition. They were hot favourites to beat Birmingham in the final last season but somehow contrived to lose 2-1 to the Midlands side. The defeat ensured Arsenal's own trophy drought continues and they have now lost more Carling Cup finals (five) than any other side, with B365 pricing them 13/2 to win it this term.
Elsewhere, Chelsea are an industry best price of 9/2 with Bet365.com bookmakers as they look to secure a first piece of silverware with manager Andre Villas-Boas. They look as if they still have some way to go to challenge United and City in the league, so the Carling Cup could offer a useful stepping stone this season.
They come up against Liverpool in the last eight though and the Reds have won this competition more times than any other team in history - seven. They too are looking to give manager Kenny Dalglish a first piece of silverware since he took over last season and they are 13/2 to win the Carling Cup ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge.
The other last eight tie sees Premier League strugglers Blackburn (20/1) travel to Championship side Cardiff (50/1). Both teams will fancy their chances in the match, although they are likely to face one of the big guns if they make the semi-finals.
2/1 Manchester United
5/2 Manchester City
9/2 Chelsea
13/2 Liverpool
13/2 Arsenal
20/1 Blackburn
50/1 Cardiff
80/1 Crystal Palace
Odds are provided by Bet365.com bookmakers, who offer comprehensive betting markets on all Carling Cup matches.
Posted: Monday, 31st October 2011
Author: Chris James
Tags: carling cup, league cup, manchester united, manchester city, bet365,
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