Arsenal huge favourites after Ipswich draw
Ipswich provided the second underdog triumph of the Carling Cup quarter-finals by shrugging off their awful Championship form to dump out West Brom at Portman Road, however they didn't receive much in the way of a reward, being paired with favourites Arsenal in the semi-finals.
The Gunners were already odds-on to end their six-year trophy drought before being drawn to face theoretically the weakest team left and have since come in even further to [1.6], whereas the Tractor Boys - whose cup heroics may save Roy Keane's job - are complete outsiders at [17.0].
While there is no question that they appear the most likely winners, not least because Arsene Wenger has opted to take the competition far more seriously this season, a lay bet appeals more than a back bet at that price.
Disagree? Well, Birmingham - who overcame rivals Aston Villa 2-1 last night - have been a bit of a bogey side for the Gunners, the north Londoners' only victories in five meetings since 2008 coming unemphatically at the Emirates, while West Ham famously beat them the last time they faced off at Wembley.
There's also a danger that with almost all pundits and neutral fans adamant that the silverware is Arsenal's to lose and it would be a huge shock if they miss out, Arsene Wenger's men - regularly accused of mental fragility - will get complacent.
The other last-four encounter between Premier League strugglers West Ham ([6.2]) and Birmingham ([5.8]) promises to be interesting, with Irons co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold facing the club who took the 2000-01 Final against Liverpool to penalties under their chairmanship.
West Ham have been aggregate winners if combining the scores of clashes between the teams in each of the last three seasons that both have been in the Premier League, and drew 2-2 at St Andrew's last month but that may suggest that the Blues are due a bit of joy against them.
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Published: 2 Dec 2010
mayor (December 2, 2010 11:12 AM) said:
arsenal are in pole position to lift the trophy. if maximum comcentration wuld be welcomed!!