Wednesday's Carling Cup Betting Preview

We had plenty of last-minute excitement in yesterday’s Carling Cup action and we can count on some solid fixtures again on Wednesday.
Aston Villa are the biggest favourites of the day and they’re quite likely to topple Burnley this time out. Gerard Houllier’s reign has been fairly consistent and it looks like the club are grinding out results much more regularly than at the start of the season. Ashley Young is expected to be the livewire here but Burnley will revel in their giant-killer status here.
Watch for a 0-0 scoreline at half-time as that’s when you’ll know whether to back Burnley for the win or not. If Villa are going to win this one, they’ll take it in the first 45 minutes. If this one is still up for grabs, it could be advantage Burnley.
Newcastle vs Arsenal is the marquee clash today and you’ll find the Gunners listed as the odds-on favourites despite this being an away fixture. Newcastle are a scrappy side that knows how to score and you reckon that Andy Carroll could be dangerous here. Arsenal are really in great form so it’s going to be difficult to bet against them, especially since Arsene Wenger has started deploying the first team.
Look for the Magpies to pick up plenty of cards in today’s match as Arsenal can be extremely frustrating to play against- especially once they take the lead.
West Ham vs Stoke looks fairly wide open with the Hammers getting the slim edge from the bookmakers. This is the most likely fixture to all the way to extra time or even penalties and this looks to be one for the in-play punters. Stoke pride themselves on being very difficult to play against but their away form isn’t the greatest. West Ham have a chance here and they’ll need to capitalize early if they want to take anything from this one.