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Carling Cup

West Ham's injury crisis can lead to Carling Cup exit

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Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch tells us about how the Carling Cup has changed and who won't be in the next round

After a month that has included such sporting highlights as vital Euro 2008 qualifiers, the Rugby World Cup and the conclusion of the Formula 1 season, we are now brought crashing back to earth. Yes, the Carling cup is back, in all it's yawn inducing glory.

Nobody is interested in this increasing irrelevancy. Gone even are the days, when fans of lower league clubs would dream of pulling a top flight side from the hat, so that they could see the stars in the flesh.

Most Premier League bosses now field teams made up of so many reserve teams stiffs, that the only people who'd recognise them would be their own mothers and sad blokes who spend far too much time playing Football Manager (such as me). These games really test the dedication of supporters, especially when a lot of people want to know what's going to become of the cheerleader in Heroes. Still, we gamblers will watch any old rubbish on Sky Sports, as long as there's money to be won and this week's offerings promise to deliver.

On Tuesday night, Coventry take on West Ham, having already humiliated Manchester United at Old Trafford. Coventry's form in the Championship has been mediocre, but if I've learnt anything from watching football for 30 years, it's that West Ham can and will, lose to anybody.

The Hammers will not be helped by their lack of striking options. With Craig Bellamy, Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora all injured, they are left with the decidedly uninspiring option of playing Carlton Cole on his own in attack. If the question of where West Ham's goals will come from is an enigma, Coventry will be expecting the Maltese striker Michael Mifsud to fire them to victory. Mifsud has 8 goals to his name already this season, with 4 coming in the League Cup and scored a great 25-yarder on Saturday against Colchester.

A price of 2.22 to lay West Ham looks like value, given their lack of options upfront, as does the 3.45 on offer in the under 1.5 goals market. Iain Dowie has done a decent job under difficult circumstances at Coventry, who have managed to run up a bigger debt than Peggy Mitchell. They say that teams are built in the image of their managers and perhaps this is why Dowie's sides tend to win ugly. 2.52 for Coventry to qualify for the last eight, is a good price against a West Ham side in typically erratic form.

The kings of the weakened Carling Cup side are of course Arsenal. But to be fair to Arsene Wenger (which is not something that I often do, or even believe to be honourable) it's a policy that has paid dividend. Their devil may care attitude to the competition has allowed Arsenal to give their youngsters first team experience, culminating in their appearance in last season's final. However, as the quality and depth of Wenger's squad has increased, he is starting to field a slightly more experienced team for Carling Cup matches and Wednesday's game with Sheffield United will not feature anyone who's had to bunk off from their afternoon paper round.

The third round tie against Newcastle included the likes of Senderos, Eboue, Diarra, Da Silva and Walcott. A similar line up would make a price of 1.7 for an away win great value, especially against a Sheffield United side that have won just 2 home games in the league, out of 6. With Phil Jagielka the only major loss from the side that were narrowly relegated under Neil Warnock and the additions of Billy Sharp and James Beattie, I fancied Sheffield United to bounce back up. Foolishly I figured without Bryan Robson; the poster boy for the cult of underachieving managers who keep getting jobs and a man who has never motivated anyone to come from behind, except perhaps Claire Tomlinson.

The only thing stopping me backing Arsenal, is that I support Spurs. It's like my Dad once said to me "Never invest in anything that will cause you pain, unless it involves stilettos and whips."

To read more about the Carling Cup:

http://www.carlingcup.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,11995,00.html