West Ham come unstuck in Carling Cup?

Given the controversy surrounding West Ham United at the end of the last Premier League campaign, it has been a surprisingly low-key start to the season typified by injuries and moderate form. That could all be about to change tonight in the Carling Cup fourth round. There is nothing like a Cup competition to turn a season and West Ham's away tie in the fourth round of the Carling Cup against Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena, looks a very tricky proposition for Alan Curbishley's side yet SportingBet have failed to pay much notice to their current plight. West Ham are in the midst of an injury crisis and Carlton Cole is the only available striker for the Hammers. This could see Luis Boa Morte pushed up front and Matthew Etherington recalled to provide the crosses from the left. There may also be a call up for young prospect Kyel Reid as West Ham seek ammunition for their depleted strikeforce. Former Coventry player Craig Bellamy, who scored twice in this competition when he struck a double in the win against Bristol Rovers, misses out, as does Dean Ashton, who supplied the injury-time winner against Plymouth in the last round. Also on the treatment table are Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer, Julien Faubert and Freddie Ljungberg while Nol Solano and Henri Camara are cup-tied. West Ham have had to spend most of the season without some of their big name summer signings, and scoring goals is going to be a problem for them against a side managed by their former player Iain Dowie. Dowie's side lie 11th in the Championship, two points off the playoff positions, and while doubt remains over how long he is going to stay at the club due to interest from Leicester, their Carling Cup run is adding to his managerial CV. The Sky Blues beat Carlisle 2-0 before seeing off a Manchester United side at Old Trafford in the last round by the same scoreline. The United side was shorn of many of its stars yet still had Nani, Andersona and John O'Shea in its starting XI. None of those players could deal with the star of Coventry's cup run Michael Mifsud. The forward, who signed from Lillestrom in the summer, has already bagged four goals in the Carling Cup - all of Coventry's goals - and will be hungry for more against West Ham. The Maltese striker was on target again to stop Coventry's three-game losing streak in the Championship last Saturday as he scored the game's only goal against Colchester. The lack of firepower available to West Ham and the in-form Mifsud point to a good night for Coventry. The sides have only played once in the competition before - in 1980/81 when coventry won 3-2 in the semi-final first leg but lost 2-0 in the return to go out - and we take Coventry to win tonight by either 1-0 or 2-0 with SportingBet. Verdict: 2pts Coventry 1-0 @ 9/1 (SportingBet); 1pt Coventry 2-0 @ 16/1 (SportingBet)