Football League Cup Betting

Man City are the 6/1 (general) favourites to lift the League Cup as the tournament reaches the third round stage and all the big sides enter.

Also expected to go well are Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd. All three of these sides are 9/1 (Totesport for Arsenal and Chelsea, bet365 for Man Utd). As with Man City expect these three teams to field a reserve side due to the distractions of competing for the league and in Europe. If these sides can get the right draws and reach the last four then expect the managers to start taking this competition more seriously as they are just a step away from Wembley. In the meantime it is probably best to avoid these sides and look for some value.

Defending champions Liverpool are 10/1 (bet365/Stan James/ladbrokes) to claim the trophy again this season though I can not be backing them.

The three outright selections at the moment are Tottenham who are 10/1 (general). AVB will be hungry for success at the club in his first full season and this Spurs side look a work in progress though a work that could beat anyone on their day. I also like the look of Everton in the outrights at 12/1 (bet365). David Moyes team have made a very impressive start to the season and they do not have the distractions of Europe nor the worries of battling away at either end of the league table. Everton have a winnable third round game away to Leeds and will not be afraid of any of the big sides. Sunderland at 20/1 (Skybet/Totesport/betfred) are the third selection as they have a winnable last 32 game against the MK Dons and a manager in Martin O’Neill who has a track record of taking this competition seriously.

The tie of the round is the one that features Man Utd at home to Newcastle and this is live on TV on Wednesday evening. The Red Devils are 1/2 (bet365) to gain victory here though with Ferguson expected to change his side around this price looks way too short. It remains to be seen though as to how serious Alan Pardew takes this tournament as Newcastle already have the distraction of the Europa League. The Magpies are 25/4 (BWin) for victory in this game while the draw is 10/3 (general). I think this could be a high-scoring game and the over 2.5 goals and both teams to score markets look the way to play this. The live game on Tuesday evening puts Leeds up against Everton and once again goals are the way to play this. Everton have a number of goalscoring options in their team while Leeds defence has been leaking a lot of goals so take the 7/4 (william hill/Bodog) on the over 3.5 goals.

I like two bets in the non-live games this week, the first of which is Swindon to beat Burnley. Burnley have won just two of their last seven away games while Swindon have lost just one of their last 30 home games in all competitions. Take the 11/8 (boylesports) are offering on the home victory here. The second market I like the look of is Middlesbrough to get something from the game with Preston. Boro finally got over their awayday hodoo by defeating Blackburn on Friday night. This should be doubly helpful as playing Friday night gives them an extra night of rest and beating Blackburn should give them huge confidence. The 17/10 (bet365) are offering seems very generous as Boro are a high flying Championship side and Preston are in League One.

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23/09/2012     © Frixo 2024