Tuesday’s Carling Cup fixtures….
Tuesday sees the first two Carling Cup quarter-finals and both the big guns look too strong to falter, with both Arsenal and Manchester United having Wembley in their sights.
Arsenal host Wigan and after a much-needed confidence-boosting victory at Aston villa, a strong Gunners side is likely to take to the pitch at the Emirates.
In previous years, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has opted to hand his younger players and fringe squad members the chance to impress in the Carling Cup, but this year the Frenchman is taking the competition seriously.
The last time Arsenal added to their trophy cabinet was in 2005, when they secured the FA Cup and Wenger has admitted he is desperate to land a title this season, Carling Cup included.
The Gunners are the 13/8 favourites to secure the first major honour of the season, as they seek to end their trophy drought.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will undoubtedly name a reasonably strong side for the trip to the Emirates but, after slumping to a 3-1 defeat away at West Ham on Saturday, the Latics top priority will be to improve their league form.
The visitors are also without strike star Hugo Rodallega, who is suspended, and without the Colombian marksman it seems hard to imagine them toppling Arsenal on home soil.
Arsenal are priced at 2/7 to win the match outright, but considering the fact Wenger looks set to name his strongest starting XI possible it could well be worth backing the Gunners in the half-time/full-time market, with an Arsenal/Arsenal result paying out at 8/11.
Meanwhile, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson saw his side move to the top of the Premier League table after this weekend’s fixtures. Chelsea stumbled at Newcastle, managing a 1-1 draw, while United hammered Blackburn and secured a 7-1 victory over the Rovers.
Ferguson’s priorities remains the Premier League and the Champions League and as such the United boss has allowed his fringe players the chance to shine in the Carling Cup.
Gabriel Obertan, Federico Macheda, Tiago Bebe and young goalkeeper Ben Amos all featured in the win over Wolves in the last round and Ferguson should keep the faith with his youngsters and squad players for the trip to Upton Park.
Hammers boss Avram Grant, like Wigan counterpart Martinez, will have Premier League survival as his top target for the season but the pressure has been eased somewhat on the Israeli boss, after the victory over Latics on Saturday.
Hammers talisman Scott Parker returned from injury at the weekend and could be involved on Tuesday night, with goalkeeper Rob Green also impressing in the win over Wigan.
United could well be in for a battle at Upton Park but Ferguson will probably name a reasonably strong bench, so United should have options if things aren’t going quite to plan.
Despite the fact Ferguson will rotate his squad for the trip to East London, United should still be too strong for West Ham and Ferguson’s men are 3/4 to win the tie outright.
Mexican striker Javier Hernandez starred for United in the last round with a late substitute appearance against Wolves and if the youngster plays against the Hammers, he could well be a good candidate to back to find the net, with the United striker evens to score at any time, or 4/1 to be the last goalscorer on the night.
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