As Liverpool, Man U reach League Cup quarter-finals, busy Premiership weekend expected
Big guns reach League Cup quarter-finals
Liverpool and Manchester United reached the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday as they won with the same score 2-0 in their fourth round ties.
Liverpool, 7 times League Cup winners, played Middlesbrough, the current holders of the trophy. By winning 2-0 the Reds put paid to Middlesbrough's last hopes of returning to the Millennium Stadium to defend the Cup.
Manchester United made easy and pleasant work of an under-strength Crystal Palace team missing several first team players who had been rested or were injured as they enjoyed a comfortable victory at Old Trafford with goals from Frenchman Louis Saha and Kieran Richardson.
Chelsea, beat Newcastle United, and Fulham came back to knock out Nottingham Forest after extra time.
North London neighbours Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur reached the quarter-finals on Tuesday along with Portsmouth and Watford - who beat Southampton 5-2.
Big guns reach League Cup quarter-finals
With four Premiership matches on TV this weekend, spread betting bookies Sporting Index are gearing up for a busy weekend. If you’re thinking about having a punt, don’t do anything until you’ve read the opinion of their Senior Premiership Market Maker:
Wise Words
“Man City will cross town to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon relieved that van Nistelrooy will be watching from the stands, as he sees out the last match of his ban. Keegan will be hoping that Smith and Rooney repeat last weekend’s display, when despite creating plenty of chances they failed to convert any of them. City, however, have not won at Old Trafford for 30 years, and my prediction of a home victory by a margin of 1.1 to 1.4 goals says it all. Man City were dreadful in their last match on Sunday, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they step up a level for this match. Willo Flood stood out though, and he’s a player I’ll be keeping a close eye on in what I expect to be a good game of football. Ref Graham Poll is experienced and level-headed enough to keep the match flowing and so I wouldn’t expect too many bookings.
“Arsenal go to Selhurst Park showing their worst form of the season, ironically against a Palace team on their best run of the year. It’ll be a battle of the top Premiership scorers, with Andy Johnson’s eight goals only one short of Henry’s total. The Eagles’ Wayne Routledge also holds the record for most assists this season, but despite these impressive stats the gulf in class between these two teams is just too great - I’ve priced up the visitors to win by 1.3 to 1.6 goals. Ref Mike Dean isn’t shy with his cards either, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some bookings too.
“Earlier on Saturday, Portsmouth travel up to Villa carrying a few injuries which means they’ll be relying on a mix & match midfield. There’s not much in this one - Villa are strong at home, Pompey don’t travel well, so we’re predicting a home win by 0.5 to 0.8 goals. Boro host Bolton on Sunday, both looking to consolidate their respectable league positions, and I fancy Boro to shade this one by 0.3 to 0.6 goals. As for Birmingham’s trip to Anfield on Saturday - the Blues have not won away from home for nearly a year, and they won’t reverse that trend this weekend...”
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