Manchester United v Tottenham – Carling Cup Betting
December 1st, 2009 / Lee A JacksonManchester United vs Tottenham
Carling Cup Quater Final
Old Trafford
Kick Off 8pm
The first two matches of the Carling Cup quarter finals kick off on Tuesday evening, with Manchester United vs. Tottenham heading the short bill. United, against chasing silverware on all fronts, will likely give some of their top names a break, and employ some of the youngsters again, as they did in their last Champions League match against Besiktas. That plan by Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson did not exactly go to plan, as United lost their proud European home record in a 1-0 defeat. Still, this is a repeat of last year’s final, when Manchester United saw off the challenge of Spurs, but only in a penalty shoot out.
Who was the star striker who netted the winner the last time Tottenham actually managed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford? It was Gary Lineker, which sort of puts a stamp on the time frame of how long it has bee.. Tottenham these days though, are starting to show a little mettle, after being beaten convincingly by Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Harry Redknapp has guided them up into third place in the league, one point ahead of their North London rivals, Arsenal. United meanwhile, keep doing what they have been doing this season, trundling along without any great fuss or flair to their game.
The Carling Cup tie may mean that Michael Owen gets a run out, and the chances of him ever making it to South Africa 2010 get slimmer and slimmer by the day so it seems (he’s actually 5/1 at SkyBet to make the World Cup squad). The fact that he is under pressure of being replaced by some of United’s youngsters, shows how life is for Michael Owen at the moment. Other England hopeful, Peter Crouch, who is earning his trade with Tottenham at the moment, in contrast is the Carling Cup’s leading goal scorer at the moment, believe it or not. His four goal tally was boosted by the hat trick he netted against Preston.
Manchester United to win: Evens at Ladbrokes
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Tottenham to win: 3/1 at SkyBet
Betting advice: Despite suffering a reversal in the league against the Red Devils, Harry Redknapp may see this is a good chance to break their long suffering record against Manchester United. If they field their strongest team against the likes of Danny Wellbeck and Federico Macheda, then the travelling Spurs supporters will be full of confidence. They do after all, have Jermain Defoe who bagged five goals in Spurs 9-1 demolition of Wigan recently, and Robbie Keane. A 1-1 draw against Villa on the weekend will have done their confidence no harm, and the loss for United against Besiktas with the youngsters and the unsteady confidence of Ben Foster in goal, will give Spurs some positive vibes.
