Carling Cup Betting

So much for the Premier League sides taking it easy in the Carling Cup this season! No fewer than thirteen out of the sixteen teams who have made it through to the fourth round are from the top division. Betting on the Carling Cup is going to be very interesting as there are some intriguing ties as well and non more so than the Barnsley versus Manchester United match. In fact there are some interesting Carling Cup football betting odds this week on bwin.

After losing ground to Chelsea in the league over the weekend then Alex Ferguson will not want to risk vital players in a 4th round Carling Cup tie. Barnsley will be up for this and the 7.25 that is currently on offer could really attract a few people. Manchester United are 1.40 with the draw at 4.00. They have been humbled before in the Carling Cup and you have to remember that Southend United sent them crashing out a few years ago.

Barnsley have had some huge scalps recently at Oakwell and who can forget their 2008 FA Cup semi-final appearance after beating Chelsea and Liverpool en route. Played out on their tight little ground, I really like the 7.25 on offer.

Under pressure Portsmouth take on in form Stoke City at Fratton Park and Tony Pulis will be looking to give Stoke a good cup run. He has made his side very difficult to break down and Tottenham found that out to their cost on Saturday after losing at home to them. Portsmouth have got off the mark in the league and its hard to tell how they will face this game.

Will they feel that a good cup run may lift confidence or will the manager concentrate on keeping players fit and free from injuries for vital league games to come? It is difficult to call this game as much will depend on the respective outlooks and team selections of the two managers and the current betting odds of 2.30 for Portsmouth and 2.80 for Stoke City reflect that closeness.

Sunderland versus Aston Villa is another one that is difficult to call. Both are priced up currently at 2.50 which is no surprise. Given how Martin O’ Neill has treated cup competitions in the past then I would have to fancy Sunderland in this one but now that they are doing well in the league, Steve Bruce may just have other ideas for them as well on Tuesday night.

The Blackburn Rovers versus Peterborough United game could be closer than what the prices suggest. Blackburn are at Ewood Park and not surprisingly the current betting odds are 1.50 with Peterborough at 6.00. But quite often sides who are struggling in the league often put in good performances in the cup.

Blackburn are the obvious favourites and I am not going to argue with that but the team selection of Big Sam may play a big part in this game and do not be surprised to see this go to extra time. Recently the big sides have been getting results whilst fielding weaker teams and that probably reflects in just how the average squads of the Premier League sides are getting stronger and fitter.

Usually the younger players or the players who have been out through injury will be very eager to shine for their manager. A good performance in a Carling Cup game can really help to put them in the shop window not just with their own manager but with other clubs as well.

This article was written by Carl “The Dean” Sampson