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It’s a big battle on Saturday, in the race for the Champions League. With all the twists and turns this season has taken in the Premier League, any bit of consistency is greatly rewarded. Both Spurs and Villa are eyeing up that important fourth spot, which rewards with the huge payday of Champions League football next season. Season’s past, this would have been pretty much all settled by now, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool pretty much securing the spots from the outset of the season. But this year has been greatly different. Not only have Spurs, Aston Villa and Manchester City all stepped up their games, the demise of Liverpool has thrown the fourth place wide open.

It is Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham which have been the main benefactors, playing their way into contention. After safely negotiating a tricky FA Cup replay away against Leeds midweek, thanks to hat trick from England striker Jermain Defoe, Spurs will be keen to put some extra space between themselves and one of their main challengers. The two sides produced a 1-1 draw at Villa Park at the end of November, a point which satiated both managers, but at the same time drew disappointment from both sides. There really is not much to choose between the two sides, as both have really tightened up at the back, but Villa have been finding goals a little harder to come from in the league.

Martin O’Neill has given Aston Villa a new lease of life this season. They play with width and seem to relish  playing in an attacking frame of mind. This winning formula has seen them reach the Final of the Carling Cup. Still in the FA Cup, and in the hunt for a Champions League place, Villa are one of the success stories of the season. Although Villa are in seventh place in the league, they sit just two points behind fourth placed Tottenham, with a game in hand over them. This is a crucial showdown in the race for fourth place, and after holding Arsenal to a 0-0 draw, and then beating Fulham, Villa will be confident that they can really rain on Tottenham’s parade and leapfrog them in the table.

A win for either team will have a huge influence over the race for fourth place. Tottenham will be feeling pressure if Villa get ahead of them with a game in hand, and Villa will be feeling pressure if they drop five points back of Tottenham. With Manchester City and Liverpool still in the mix, there is little margin for error.

BETTING STATS

Last 5 Head to Head
Aston Villa 1, Tottenham 1
Aston Villa 1, Tottenham 2
Tottenham 1, Aston Villa 2
Aston Villa 2, Tottenham 1
Tottenham 4, Aston Villa 4

Last 5 Match Goals
Spurs: 5 For, 3 Against
Aston Villa: 2 For, 4 Against

Last 10 Form
Spurs: W4, D4, L2
Aston Villa: W5, D3, L2

Win Percentage:
Spurs have a 66.7 win percentage at home
Aston Villa have a 61.9 win percentage away from home

Match Prices:
Tottenham to win: 6/5 at Boylesports
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Aston Villa to win: 11/4 at Ladbrokes

Betting Advice: Sensible bets will probably lean towards a draw in this fixture. Neither team are firing goals into the back of the net in the league at the moment, and both are secure at the back. Tottenham have shaken things up with the arrival of Eider Gudjohnsen and the departure of Robbie Keane to try and shake things up, while relying on England pair of Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe. This could be a defences-on-top fixture. Normally the onus is one the home team to do all the attacking, but with the width they employ and attacking nature, Villa could just be the more threatening.
Aston Villa +0.5 Asian Handicap: 4/5 at Bet365

There is a breakaway leader at the top of the scoring charts, with Wayne Rooney’s recent four-goal salvo against Hull shooting him clear of his nearest competitors. With the England striker scoring at the Emirates on Sunday, the bookmakers aren’t expecting anyone to usurp the Manchester United striker, with Coral prepared to offer a best price 4/9 ahead of the Red Devils’ encounter with Portsmouth on Saturday. It’s in this match where the 24-year-old could effectively win the contest, although stranger things have happened than someone bridging the five-goal gap at the top.

Especially when you consider that Didier Drogba has fifteen goals to his name this term after scoring the equaliser at the KC Stadium on Tuesday night. The Ivorian has a phenomenal strike rate in a blue shirt and Stan James’ 8/1 could be an interesting price when you consider he’s playing against favourite team Arsenal on Sunday! The bookmakers are still also offering each-way betting on the contest, with firms like bet365 offering 1/3 odds for the first two places and Sporting Bet offering 1/5 odds for the first three places.

Indeed, it’s crying out for a bookmaker to offer a “without Wayne Rooney” market, with Jermain Defoe (7/1 bet365) also having fifteen goals to his name and Darren Bent (20/1 bet365) having scored fourteen despite playing for a Sunderland team who have been struggling for months. Fernando Torres was the original favourite on this market at odds of around 4/1 and, while the Spaniard got off to a flying start for Liverpool, it was almost inevitable that injury would halt his in his tracks this term. Definitely one to swerve at short odds next term if he’s still playing at Anfield!

Meanwhile, there is a big chase for fourth place in the Premier League this term, something which would provide access to next season’s Champions League. There is a massive financial gulf between qualifying for Europe’s blue riband club competition and the Europa League, with Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa all pushing hard to be in the top quartet. It’s Spurs who currently occupy that golden fourth place, with bet365 offering 10/3 that they are rubbing shoulders with the likes of Barca and Real next term.

However, the bookies think it’s more likely to be Manchester City who take their place among Europe’s elite. They certainly have the biggest finances, although they look defensively suspect away from home and odds of 10/11 (Paddy Power) that they snare a place in the Champions League might not be to everyone’s liking. Liverpool are still realistic contenders, having finished in the top four for several consecutive seasons and bet365 offer 15/8 that they feature in next season’s competition. Aston Villa might be the outsiders, although they have a strong first team and the backers of the 9/2 (Sporting Bet) might just have themselves a value bet.

Arsenal’s recent strong run of form has seen them reach the top of the table, although the bookmakers are in little doubt as to which team are likely to finish as champions. Despite the Gunners occupying first place, firms such as Ladbrokes and bet365 are prepared to offer 3/1 about Arsene Wenger’s team winning their first title since 2004. This is despite the North London bridging a gap of eight points that existed between them and Chelsea at the end of October when the Blues won 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Indeed, Carlo Ancelotti’s team are no better than 4/5 (Sky Bet) to regain top spot in the Premier League and remain there until the end of the season. Chelsea started the season in blistering fashion, although away defeats to Aston Villa to Wigan proved that this team weren’t invincible. Although they showed little sign of missing their African Nations Cup participants when beating Sunderland 7-2 last Saturday, the Blues have some tricky fixtures with Arsenal visiting Stamford Bridge on 7th February. Meanwhile, the title favourites have consecutive away trips to Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United in April and May.

Manchester United are expected to beat Hull City on Saturday and actually leave Chelsea sitting in third place. Although the Red Devils have been wobbling in the past couple of months, it’s clear that Sir Alex Ferguson has experienced big problems with injured defenders and it will be with a sigh of relief that Rio Ferdinand will return to the back line.

With Nemanja Vidic also expected back in the team, it’s possible that the champions could enjoy a run of clean sheets that occurred last season from Boxing Day until February. Something like this would surely put them in pole position and bet365 and Sporting Bet’s 3/1 that they manage a fourth consecutive title could be the value proposition. However, there is a nagging doubt that this United team just can’t reach the same heights that they did when Cristiano Ronaldo was in the team.

Meanwhile, the race for fourth place in the Premier League is hotting up, on the basis that the above trio occupy the top three places. Many of the top bookmakers offer odds on which team will land a top four finish and Manchester City are the 6/5 favourites (Ladbrokes). Although Roberto Mancini’s team are level with Tottenham and a point better off than Liverpool (having a game in hand on both teams), their recent defeat at Everton suggested defensive concerns which could hinder their ambition.

In addition, Liverpool look like they have created a siege mentality and some might think 7/4 (bet365) is a big price about a team that feature in the top four of the Premier League so regularly. With key players to return from injury and the luck to go their way at some point, perhaps they will edge it. Then again, Tottenham could usurp both teams, with the return of Aaron Lennon clearly crucial to their hopes of making the top four. Ladbrokes make them 7/2 chances.

It seemed too good to be true on Saturday. Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea seemed like a successful treble in the making, with Burnley, Hull City and Sunderland all facing mammoth tasks to get something out of their matches. While the Black Cats found themselves trailing 4-0 at half-time to an outstanding Blues performance, the other teams did themselves enormous credit and illustrated the perils of lumping on favourites at odds-on in the Premier League.

While Manchester United were a pre-match 1/4 with bet365 against a Clarets team that have been very travel-sick this season, punters that had backed Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were made to sweat before the champions found a breakthrough just after the hour mark. While Brian Laws’ appointment has met with a negative press, he sent out an organised and determined side that created a few chances of their own. The Red Devils were 4/7 on bet365’s In-Play market before Dimitar Berbatov scored and illustrated the advantages of betting during the live action.

However, those that backed Tottenham either before or during the game had their fingers burnt, with Spurs once again failing to beat so-called lesser opposition at White Hart Lane. Punters will now be leaving Harry Redknapp out of their weekend accumulators for the rest of the season, with the bookies rubbing their hands together after offering pre-match odds of 2/7 about the home team. On another day, it could have been quite different with Hull keeper Boaz Myhill producing a goalkeeping masterclass for the Tigers, although Tottenham do seem to lack the nous to break down stubborn opposition after losing at home to Stoke and Wolves.

Chelsea proved to be the Saturday banker and are clearly the stand-out team in the Premier League right now. However, the Blues only get three points for their 7-2 mauling of Sunderland, although it clearly pays to study the line-ups before placing your bets. After all, Steve Bruce explained after the game that with Michael Turner, Anton Ferdinand and Nyron Nosworthy missing, the manager had to play midfielders in defence and that was a core explanation as to why a talented side were out of sight after just twenty minutes.

However, a victory of this nature is a rarity in the Premier League these days, with teams generally being well-organised and capable of pulling off a shock. Since the first few weeks of the season, putting the ‘top six’ sides in any kind of multiple bet is now more than a calculated risk, especially as Liverpool have failed to put together any kind of consistent run since the campaign began. At the moment, it’s far more sensible to look at single bets and perhaps the odd double, with some swotting up on likely team selections likely to yield more dividends. With Aston Villa and Arsenal likely to be well-fancied in doubles on Sunday, we shall see if blindly backing the favourites pays off or continues to be a risky business.

UPDATE: Unfortunately the match has been postponed …

Sunday’s big game sees the clash of Liverpool v Tottenham. With Spurs under the guidance of Harry Redknapp this season, the London side have risen to fourth in the league, and have everything to play for. With England’s Jermain Defoe having a fine season up front (with 14 league goals), Redknapp seems to have installed a little sense of grit into Spurs, whereas they have always been perceived as being a little soft. That’s not to say that their season has not been without its flaws, as they have struggled badly against the big three teams in the league, suffering defeats against Chelsea, Manhcester United and North London rivals Arsenal.

But it against mid and lower table teams, where they have started to press home some advantage, and that has kept them in touch for the race for fourth spot. One of their main challengers for that final Champions League spot, should be Liverpool. The Reds are still a very long way from being a title challenger, and again their weaknesses were highlighted on the weekend in a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup against Championship side Reading. Steven Gerrard was the man again to rescue the Anfield crew, after showing some signs of brighter times by winning their previous two Premier League matches. But even those victories were not particularly accomplished. An injury time winner against Aston Villa, who were the better side, gained Rafa Benitez a valuable three points, after a labouring victory over Wolves in which Gerrard was needed to spark things off.

This is a big test for the ambitions of both teams as they look to go upwards and onwards to better times. Tottenham have only lost two of their ten away games, and Liverpool will probably be in for a tougher afternoon at Anfield than they would like. Liverpool have lost five of their ten games on the road this season, and while they have lost twice at home as well, home advantage should present a less difficult hurdle for them to overcome their woes, if they are really going to turn their season around in 2010. They need the Kop behind them. There are four points between the two teams in the league, and a Liverpool win would be a substantial landmark in the climb towards the guaranteed fourth place, which boss Rafa Benitez has promised fans.

But lack of consistency, passion and quality have dogged the Anfield club all season, and Tottenham do have the attacking prowess to punish them further. The trouble with Spurs, is that when they go down, they usually go down in style, as was witnessed in their defeats against the top three sides in the league. But still, they have played themselves into contention for a much coveted Champions League spot, and if they can win and put seven points between themselves and Liverpool, they would in a very strong position to do just that. A repeat of Tottenham’s 2- 1 victory at White Hart Lane earlier in the season, would really be a massive blow for Liverpool.

Betting Stats
Liverpool vs Spurs
Anfield
Sunday, January 10th
Kick Off: 4pm

Head to Head
Spurs 2, Liverpool 1
Liverpool 3, Spurs 1
Spurs 4, Liverpool 2
Spurs 2, Liverpool 1
Spurs 0, Liverpool 2

Last 5 Matches Goals
Liverpool – 6 For, 5 Against
Spurs – 7 For, 1 Against

Last 10 Matches Form
Liverpool – W4, D3, L3
Spurs – W5, D3, L2

Win Percentage:
Liverpool have a 60.0 win percentage at home
Spurs have a 40.0 win percentage away

Match Prices:
Liverpool to win: 10/11 at 888Sport
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Tottenham to win: 7/2 at Paddy Power

Betting Advice: Can Spurs do a smash and grab number on Liverpool again? Starting them with a plus handicap should pay off here. Liverpool haven’t got the scoring touch they had earlier in the season, and their defence is a little ropey and lacking confidence. The more attacking nature of Spurs could pay dividends, and if they are brave and get stuck into Liverpool then the home side could see a whole world of more pressure heaped upon them.
Spurs +0.50 Asian Handicap – Evens at Bet365

Everyone likes to talk about the magic of the FA Cup, although Leeds United’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford was the only result that really lit up the third round. Elsewhere, Reading’s sturdy performance when drawing 1-1 with Liverpool was about as newsworthy as it got and the Berkshire club are likely to go out in next week’s replay.

Indeed, this is a competition that has been dominated by the ‘Big Four’ for several years. Aside from Portsmouth in 2008, one of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United have won the FA Cup since Everton won this piece of silverware in 1995. You might have profited from backing teams like West Ham (2006), Millwall (2004) or Southampton (2003) on an each-way basis, although it’s been pretty predictable when it comes to picking out the winner.

Perhaps this is the season where the tables have turned, especially as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City have seemingly closed the gap on the ‘Big Four’ (indeed, in the case of Liverpool, perhaps they have caught up with them). The trio have the bonus of not being involved in European competition this season and have clearly ear-marked the FA Cup as a priority (along with trying to finish in the top four of the Premier League).

City catch the eye at 7/1 (bet365) on the outright market, especially with the team looking in good nick since Roberto Mancini became manager. It’s possible that they will spend big during the January transfer window and the club’s rich owners will want the prestige of winning some silverware as they look to broaden global appeal. The Citizens have been drawn away at Scunthorpe in the fourth round and have a squad brimming with talent.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill claims that the FA Cup is ‘back in vogue’ and, while he played a weakened team to beat Blackburn in the third round, a home tie with Brighton should ensure that the Villans also feature in the last sixteen of the competition. The Midlands side proved recently when winning at Old Trafford that they can win one-off matches anywhere these days and some might consider them an attractive each-way prospect at 10/1 (Stan James).

Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp loves a cup competition and was the manager that steered Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2008. Admittedly he was helped by Barnsley, who knocked Chelsea and Liverpool out en route, although he now manages a stronger squad than the side that he had at Fratton Park. Although many people are getting excited about their match against Leeds in the fourth round, let’s remember that the visitors are still a League One team who will be big outsiders. Therefore, the 15/2 (bet365) that Spurs land the spoils could also be worth an interest.

After all, if Chelsea play a weakened team away to Darren Ferguson’s team and lose, with Arsenal facing a tricky assignment at Stoke, then these teams will become a lot shorter!

Last weekend’s Premier League results were highly unpredictable, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton all failing to oblige at odds-on. This is how the In-Play odds unfurled at bet365…

Fulham v Man United got under way, with the champions available at 4/5 with bet365 to win this match. They had been 8/13 two days before the match, although the inclusion of de Laet, Fletcher and Carrick in defence has seen them drift with bet365. Conversely, the Cottagers were 11/2 earlier in the week, although the team news has seen them shortened to 7/2 and they have a bright start to the game.

Over at Eastlands, Manchester City score early and bet365 now offer 2/9 that the home side win, with Sunderland 12/1 and yet another draw available at 9/2. There are rumours that this is Mark Hughes’ last match in charge of the team – has he sent them out to score lots of goals and throw caution to the wind?

Meanwhile, the traders at bet365 are far from impressed by Manchester United after ten minutes. They offer 5/6 that the Red Devils win, although Fulham are also drifting to 15/4, despite Zoltan Gera having an effort brilliantly saved. Back at Eastlands and City are now 2-0 up, with Sunderland out to 25/1. John Mensah almost immediately scores for the Black Cats and they are cut to 14/1.

Fulham have been knocking on the door and Danny Murphy scores in the 22nd minute! Roy Hodgson’s team are chopped to 20/21 and Manchester United are now 13/5. We have seen Sir Alex Ferguson’s team come back several times over the years and they are 4/7 with bet365 to score the next goal. The Cottagers are 21/10 to score next and they sound like they are having plenty of joy against this makeshift defence.

Over at Eastlands, Sunderland are back! 2-2 and City are back to 8/11 to win the match after bet365 had previously quoted them at 1/14. There might be a few nervous punters hoping the home side can go further ahead!

After 30 minutes, it’s goalless at Ewood Park and Villa Park. Aston Villa are trading at 8/13 with bet365, although it’s 13/2 Stoke that have a goal harshly disallowed. Over in Lancashire, Tottenham are dictating the play and they are a tempting 5/4 with bet365. Blackburn are 11/4, but continue to struggle for goals.

Back to Craven Cottage and Man United were 5/6 before the match kicked off, although it’s Fulham are now 5/6 with bet365 as we hit the 38th minute. Roy Hodgson’s team are controlling the match and are good value for their lead. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are drifting towards the even-money mark, with bet365 going 8/11. Stoke are 6/1 and are defending stoutly, although will that disallowed goal come back to haunt them.

A Peter Crouch goal just before the interval see the bet365 match odds revised to Blackburn 11/1 – draw 7/2 – Tottenham 3/10. After a quick breather at half-time, it’s time to settle down for the second half and Bobby Zamora scores within seconds to make it 2-0 to Fulham. The Cottagers are now 1/10, with Manchester United 8/1 to turn this around.

Finally, the deadlock is broken at Villa Park with John Carew scoring on the hour mark. Martin O’Neill’s team had drifted to 6/5 before finding their way through and this is a clear example of why it pays to bide your time with the In-Play betting.

Another exciting In-Play Saturday at bet365 and it’s clear that the movement of prices often accurately reflects the balance of play in each match.

If you had a bet or three on the English top flight last weekend, then congratulations are in order if you came away with a profit! Saturday was the sort of day that bookmakers dream about, with most of the favourites failing to oblige. While Stoke’s failure to beat Wigan wasn’t a big surprise in the early match, the same can’t be said about Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City failing to win.

City are proving to be an unreliable team to bet on, although you would have benefited from laying their opponents on betfair to win for each of the last ten games. Not that this will be any consolation to those who backed them with bet365 at 1.83 to win at the Reebok, thinking that if they can beat Chelsea, then 19th-placed Bolton shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Perhaps it’s better to stick to backing Over 2.5 Goals when Mark Hughes’ team play at home, something which has yielded a profit five times out of seven.

Tottenham were a massive coupon-buster and Sky Bet were the bravest firm on Saturday, offering 3/10 that Harry Redknapp’s team won the match. There is a lesson to be learned from those that piled into Spurs to win or Jermain Defoe to score. Sometimes teams suffer an anticlimax after achieving an outstanding result and scorelines didn’t get any bigger than the 9-1 victory previously seen at White Hart Lane. It’s also been clear on occasions this season that the North London side play some excellent football but achieve no end result. Against Stoke, they huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow the house down either.

Paddy Power were counting their money after Chelsea’s poor defending led to a 3-3 draw against Everton. Although the Irish firm were offering 1/4 about the league leaders, this was pretty much the best price about a team that were boasting a 100% Premier League record at Stamford Bridge. However, we should learn that teams involved in European midweek action sometimes struggle the following weekend and should a defence that has previously conceded four goals in the last two games have been trusted?

After all of these results, there certainly felt like a possibility of an upset at Old Trafford and so it proved with Aston Villa beating the champions. Boylesports had offered 1/2 about United, which reflected a) that the Red Devils were missing several defenders and b) that the Villans are playing with lots of confidence at the moment. However, for anyone wanting to oppose Sir Alex Ferguson’s team at Old Trafford for the remainder of the season, be aware that United only lost one home match last season and the season before.

Some of you will recall that I picked Birmingham in Paddy Power’s Last Man Standing competition, which worked out very nicely with so many fancied teams failing to win. 832 people entered last week’s competition and there are now just 162 of us going through to next weekend. I have gone for Arsenal at home to Hull City which is an obvious pick, although I still have the chance to use the ‘draw’ option at a later stage. I’ll also be entering this week’s competition from scratch and going for Wigan against Bolton!

Sunday, December 6th
Goodison Park
4 pm Kick Off

Tottenham have the chance to jump back ahead of their North London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, with a win away at Goodison Park. One quick glance at the table will show that the Merseyside club are in a lot of difficulty this season, sitting just two points above the relegation zone. The stout and robust Everton of seasons past, is just not there are the moment, as manager David Moyes is undergoing a season of misery thanks to an overwhelming list of injuries. Despite finding wins hard to come by, and a morale crushing defeat against Hull in the league, followed up by defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, has left Everton fans on tenterhooks.

But even with their lack of points on the board, there have been signs of encouragement for Moyes. For a start, his Everton side dominated long passages of play against rivals Liverpool, although that may not be so much of a benchmark these days. But putting in plucky performances, and the performance against Liverpool was like day and night compared to the Everton which had turned out against Hull, there were still no points forthcoming. Apparently, with any good that is coming Everton’s way at the moment, there is a price attached to it. They had a rain-sodden win over AEK Athens in the Europa League in midweek, which should cheer Toffee fans even more. But already struggling to field a full side of first-teamer’s Moyes watched in dismay as he lost three more players to injury.

Dan Gosling, Jo and Sylvain Distin were all casualties of the battle in Greece, and although the victory puts Everton in second place in their Europa League group, it is on the home front where all of Everton’s troubles lie. Now Moyes once again has to dig deep as he prepares his walking wounded to face visitors Tottenham on Sunday. The match against another top side will be mixed with two frames of mind. On one hand, there is the incredible chance to boost morale with a win over the fourth placed side in the league, yet on the other hand, Everton would fancy an easier chance to try and get three points on the board. The Toffees are struggling for goals, having only scored 9 at Goodison in the league this season. In comparison, Sunday’s opponents Spurs have scored 21 times at White Hart Lane, emphasising the difference in class at the moment.

Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham are continuing to try and prove that they belong in the top four. Despite falling down against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, Spurs are still showing that they are at least good enough to hang on to the coat tails of those three above them. Tottenham again failed to get the better of an under strength Manchester United in the Carling Cup semi final in midweek, and Redknapp will be keen to drive home to his players, the importance of getting things back on track. They will need this win to not only get the better of Arsenal in the standings, but to also put more distance between themselves and the immediate teams behind them like Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Everton are unbeaten in the last four outings against Tottenham, and they will need more of that resilience to take at least a point from Sunday’s game. The two previous encounters between the two which have taken place at Goodison Park, have ended in 0-0 draws, which may make fans hesitate on buying tickets to the match. But Tottenham of late are showing some kind of resilience, and have turned in a very good away team, only losing once in their last ten matches away from White Hart Lane. Everton’s ever growing injury list will make life easier for the visitors, and if they can break through the Blue barrier early in the game, then it could be a very long afternoon for the Merseysiders.

Everton to win: 21/10 at William Hill
Draw: 12/5 at Ladbrokes
Tottenham to win: 7/5 at Bet365

Betting Advice: Tottenham are looking good enough to beat Everton and maintain their form at the top of the league. The defeat to Manchester United in the Carling Cup was nothing to be judged by really, with Manchester United’s defence and Tottenham’s attack both finding parity in looking terrible. Redknapp will put more first team players on show for the game on Sunday, and they will be happy with a 1-0 win.
Tottenham to win 1-0: 17/2 at ExtraBet

Manchester 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.