The sports writers at Betfair are very bullish on Manchester United in their Carling Cup tie against Wolves, but you have to be careful with Carling Cup fixtures, because the larger sides tend to field weakened teams. As is often the case with the League Cup, a lot comes down to how much each side wants to progress.
The fixtures
Note that most fixtures kick off at 7:45 PM local time, which is 5:45 AM AEDST, so be sure to set your alarm early for Wednesday and Thursday morning!
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
- Birmingham v Brentford
- Ipswich v Northampton
- Leicester v West Brom
- Wigan v Swansea
- Man Utd v Wolverhampton
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
- Aston Villa v Burnley
- Newcastle v Arsenal
- West Ham v Stoke
Selected odds
I apologise for not having the time to compile odds across numerous bookmakers this week. Below are selected Luxbet odds (subject to change).
Pundits’ predictions and tidbits
Man Utd v Wolverhampton
- Notes (primarily sourced from the BBC):
- Wolves haven’t won any of their last ten games in regular time. They required extra time to get past Southend and Notts County earlier in the competition.
- Man Utd have won 15 of their 18 home games since their loss to Leeds in January
- Man Utd are expected to field a largely second-string XI, with Michael Owen up front and Javier Hernandez rested
- Wolves have fielded a second string team against Man Utd in the past
- Man Utd have won the League Cup in three of the past five years
- Michael Owen has scored seven goals in his last nine appearances in the Carling Cup
- Wolves have not won at Old Trafford in over 30 years, and lost both of last season’s Premier League fixtures against Man Utd without scoring a goal
- Wolves have a poor League Cup record: the last time they progressed beyond the fourth round was in 1995
- Five of the last six League Cup matches involving Wolves have gone to extra time
- Befair’s tip: Back a Man Utd clean sheet because Wolverhampton have failed to score in their last six trips to Old Trafford. They have also struggled to score on the road so far this season.
- Andy’s tip:: if Owen starts, back him to score a goal
- Gooners Guide tips: Back Man Utd to win 1-0, back under 2.5 goals
- Other Befair tips: bet on under 2.5 goals and a 2-0 win to Man Utd
Other fixture tips
- Andy’s tip: Back Leicester to beat West Brom
- Gooners Guide tips: Back Birmingham to win 2-0, back Birmingham – 1.25 Asian Handicap