Tuesday’s Carling Cup Preview

We’ve got a handful of Premier League clubs in action in today’s Carling Cup fixtures, and at this stage of the tournament you can always bank on a few crazy upsets.

Birmingham vs Brentford looks to be a lock for the Premier League side and they’re considered very strong favourites here with bookmakers floating them around 2/5. Brentford are a massive 15/2, and you reckon they’ll take a bit of money at that price. Brentford have been able to grind out the results to get here and if Brum have an off day then they could certainly capitalize. This is one to keep your eye on.

Ipswich face off against Northampton, and the League two side will be fancying their chances against Roy Keane’s men. Having conquered Brighton, Reading and Liverpool to get to this stage you can understand why this is a massive fixture for Northampton and a winnable one.

Leicester City and West Brom looks to be a bit of a toss-up, but West Brom get the edge here and will come in with a bit of momentum. The first goal looks to be extremely important, as Brum definitely doesn’t want to chase the lead. This all-midlands clash should have a few incidents in it, and a red card would be anything but surprising.

Manchester United vs. Wolves is the feature clash today, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are, of course, considered to be strong favourites.

Mick McCarthy will deploy a containment strategy in an attempt to nullify United’s attacking threat. They’ll be looking for a smash-and-grab raid here and you’ll be able to gauge a lot from Sir Alex’s starting lineup: Chicharito may get another run out here today, if he’s fit enough to do so.