Live on Skysports 2: Tue 20.00: Arsenal are 2/1 (Coral) to beat Man City in the Carling Cup and there could be goals galore.
Arsenal and Man City went into last weekend with fine domestic form, both on long winning streaks, but came unstuck with 1-1 draws at home to Fulham and away at Liverpool respectively.
Arsenal have been given an attractive 2/1 quote by Coral to take this Carling Cup quarter final in 90 minutes while William Hill are 6/5 for The Gunners to progress from the tie. Man City meanwhile are Paddy Power’s 7/5 match favs but could find the going tougher than the odds suggest.
Both sides will prove diffictult to predict in terms of line-ups: Wenger going slightly stronger than usual in the Carling Cup and City likely to delve into their vast resources to go a little under-stregth. With City’s attacking flair coming against Arsenal’s fine home scoring record, Skybet’s 4/7 for both teams to score looks likely while, at 11/8 with Stan James, Arsenal are a good bet to net at least twice.
By the looks of recent activity, it’s Arsenal’s job to come out best in a high-scoring game. Wenger’s men have netted a decent 18 times in 9 domestic home games while free-scoring City have plundered an amazing 29 in just 8 trips on the road. Boylesports are 8/11 for 3 goals or more, which could prove to be a very safe bet while Sportingbet’s 9/5 for a game with 4 or more also looks like a fine bet. Braver souls should pile into Betdaq’s 5.5 (9/2) for a game with 5 or more, regardless of result. Arsenal are 28/1 with Totesport to take the tie 3-2.
With City’s defence under some scrutiny, prodigy Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is likely to start, has a great opportunity to prove his worth once again and is large at 4/1 with Paddy Power to net at any point.
In the other games, Chelsea and Liverpool meet again at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are playing for AVB with renewed vigour. At 4/5 (Betfred), Chelsea are a bit short considering they only just lost to this Liverpool side (who narrowly missed out on defeating Man City) but a win for the Merseyside outfit, 4/1 with Stan James, may be one step too far. A draw seems fair this time around at 11/4 (Paddy Power), Ladbrokes quoting 13/2 for 1-1.
Finally, Cardiff meet struggling Blackburn as 6/4 favs with Boylesports. However, the Lancashire club have looked slightly liberated in the League Cup, scoring freely, and could be hard to ignore at 2/1 () to win in Wales.
Recommended Bets:
Over 3.5 goals, Arsenal v Man City – 9/5 at Sportingbet.
Chelsea and Liverpool to draw – 11/4 with Paddy Power.
Blackburn to win in Cardiff – 2/1 at .
Tuesday 29 November:
Cardiff City v Blackburn Rovers (19:45 GMT)
Chelsea v Liverpool (19:45 GMT)
Arsenal v Manchester City (20:00 GMT)
Wednesday 30 November:
Manchester United v Crystal Palace (19:45 GMT)
Compare all Carling Cup odds and bet at the best price.
