Football betting: Carling Cup quarter-finals (Tuesday)

Even though Arsenal will play their second string at Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup tonight, they can be trusted to beat Mark Hughes's side at meaty 6/4 with SportingBet. Click here to claim £100 free to bet on Carling Cup football tonight When this column tipped the Gunners to win the Premier League at the start of the season at odds of 12/1 there were various reasons behind thatthought process. A kind fixture list, the liberating effect of Thierry Henry's departure and the signing of Bacary Sagna and Eduardo were all cited. The main reason, though, was the fact that Arsenal's squad was not as thin as was widely being portrayed. And though Arsene Wenger can be expected to rest his big guns ahead of the visit of Tottenham this weekend, his willing and able 'reserves' will have more than enough to put Blackburn to the sword. The likes of Croatia striker Eduardo, Denilson, Nicklas Bentner, Lassana Diarra, Alexandre Song and Gilberto Silva are players who would get into most Premier League first teams and who are all desperate to break into Arsenal's. Diarra is already making noises about leaving the club where regular football has been hard to come by. On occasions like these, such players are keen to show their worth as did Eduardo and Denilson, who both scored crackers against Sheffield united in the last round. Indeed 7/1 about Brazilian-born Eduardo to score first, as he did against Sheffield United last time out, represents a worthwhile bet. Blackburn will not lie down in this match, if only because it represents their best chance of a trophy this term. They also have quality in depth, with Matt Derbyshire, Maceo Rigters, Jason Roberts and Morten Gamst Pederson among Rovers' frustrated number this season. This match is a tough one to call and Blackburn can take heart from having already held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park this term. Nonetheless, the visitors have the edge in terms of pace and quality and this should be enough for them in the Carling Cup tonight. In the evening's other Carling Cup quarter-final, Manchester City are looking to continue their 100 per cent home record against Tottenham Hotspur. Both sides are likely to field weakened teams. The visitors, who face their arch rivals on Saturday, are already stretched by European commitments while City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose side are a heady fourth place in the table, voiced concerns recently about how his foreign legion are more used to putting their feet up over Christmas rather than having to run around outside in sub-zero temperatures during the senselessly overcrammed Premier League programme. In fact, of the two teams, Eriksson is the most likely to make the more sweeping changes. And with the jury still out on Juande Ramos don't be surprised if success-starved Tottenham pull off an away win they could probably best do without. Verdict: 2pts Arsenal @ 6/4 (SportingBet); 2pts Eduardo first goalscorer @ 7/1 (Bet365); 2pts Spurs @ 2/1 (SportingBet) Click here to claim £100 free to bet on Carling Cup football tonight