Carling Cup - Round 3

[admin]

The third round of the Carling Cup takes place mid-week, with Manchester United's trip to Leeds United arguably the fixture of the round. The game will be aired live on Fox Sports 2, and will be streamed live online for bet365 members.

In other fixtures, Arsenal will hope to avoid further embarrassment as they host Shrewsbury, while Liverpool faces a tricky fixture against Brighton and Chelsea play a West London derby against Fulham.

As is always the case for Carling Cup fixtures, be sure to check the team sheets before betting, because some teams wish to remain in the competition more than others. QPR manager Neil Warnock said he was pleased by their exist in Round 2 at the hands of League One side Rochdale. "I'm not disappointed to be out. The competition is not a priority for us," said Warnock, who made made eight changes for the fixture. "If I can't get motivated for the competition I can't blame the players if they can't."

Below are the latest odds (subject to change):

[qtip]

I'll wait for the team sheets before committing to anything, but below are some thoughts.

- Perhaps Tottenham @ 2.80 is worth a shout. They've just come off a 4-0 win over Liverpool while Stoke lost 4-0 to Sunderland.

- Due to their local rivalry, perhaps Chelsea and Fulham will field decent squads.

- Southampton are in great form, so I'd back them if they go full strength.

- If Aston Villa fields a full strength squad then I'd back them to beat Bolton

- I don't rate Birmingham's chances against Man City, but a lot will depend on selections

[Andy Marshall]

Tuesday night multi
Arsenal, Wolves and Man Utd @ 3.25

Wednesday night multi
Chelsea, Man City and Southampton @ 2.50

[admin]

Below are selected team sheat info for the third round fixtures. The following has been sourced from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...up/default.stm

Leeds vs Manchester United

• Leeds United defender Patrick Kisnorbo serves a one-match ban following his sending off against Bristol City.
• Manager Simon Grayson may rotate his side given that they play Brighton in the Championship on Friday.
• Manchester United are set to play a host of youngsters such as Paul Pogba and Will Keane.
• Experienced strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen are expected to feature, but Chris Smalling has been ruled out with a groin injury.

Arsenal vs Shrewsbury

• Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi and fellow 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will make their full debuts for Arsenal.
• New signing Ju Young Park will also be involved as Arsene Wenger fields a mixture of senior and young players.
• Shrewsbury must make do without injured central defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, while captain Ian Sharps is struggling to be fit.
• Forward Terry Gornell serves the final game of his three-match suspension.

Aston Villa vs Bolton

• Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish will check on the fitness of three senior players ahead of the Carling Cup tie with Bolton.
• Record signing Darren Bent is nursing a groin problem, while Stephen Warnock and Stiliyan Petrov suffered respective hip and ankle injuries at the weekend.
• Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden will make his first appearance since rupturing knee ligaments in March.
• Ivan Klasnic is suspended as a result of his red card against Norwich.

Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle

• Nottingham Forest will be without Chris Cohen due to the injury he picked up against Derby on Saturday.
• Paul Anderson and George Boateng are out, while Gareth McCleary and Dexter Blackstock remain long-term absentees.
• Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa will return to action after nearly a year out injured.
• New signing Davide Santon's debut is still on hold, while Mehdi Abeid, Alan Smith, Haris Vuckic and Mike Williamson again miss out.

Stoke vs Tottenham

• Stoke have no fresh fitness concerns following Sunday's 4-0 Premier League defeat by Sunderland.
• Peter Crouch, Rory Delap, Matthew Etherington and Marc Wilson all returned from injury but Tony Pulis is likely to make changes.
• William Gallas and Sandro are in line to make their first starts of the season for Spurs after recovering from injuries picked up during the summer.
• Heurelho Gomes is set to play in goal as Harry Redknapp rotates his squad.

[pominoz]

Looks like a Man Utd bet is a good way to go if Leeds have a Friday fixture in the back of their minds.

[qtip]

Congrats on your Tue picks Andy! Your Wed picks look good too.

[Andy Marshall]

Congrats on your Tue picks Andy! Your Wed picks look good too.

Thanks qtip! About time I had some success on the round ball code.
Adding Man City and Liverpool @ 2.00 tomorrow. Including Liverpool because Brighton have that upcoming match with Leeds on Friday.