Aston Villa to show class against Burnley
The Carling Cup holds a lot of very good memories for Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier.
The Frenchman has won the competition on two previous occasions during his time in charge of Liverpool. In fact, the League Cup was the first trophy he won in England when the Reds beat Birmingham in 2001.
He will face a difficult task to emulate that success with Aston Villa this season. With Manchester United and Arsenal still in the competition, Villa are a distant third favourites at [7.8].
Burnley have only won three of their last 29 games on the road however, so the Villains should at least make it to the quarter finals.
The Clarets are a respectable seventh in the Championship, but that position has largely been achieved as result of their form at Turf Moor, where they have lost just one of their opening eight games this season. That defeat came in their last game though - a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Reading.
The last time these sides met was in the Premier League in February. Villa came out 5-2 winners at Villa Park, although Burnley can take heart from the fact that one of the goal scorers that day - Gabriel Agbonlahor - will be missing through injury.
Burnley would be advised not to get their hopes up too much though. Villa may have had a poor recent run (they've not won in three games), but the Villains are undefeated domestically at Villa Park this term - winning three and drawing two of their games on home soil.
Backing Aston Villa at [1.58] looks like the safest option, but if you fancy going for something a little juicier, you can back Villa to win both halves at a very tempting [4.4].
Could Burnley spring a surprise at [6.8]? Let us know what you think below...
Published: 27 Oct 2010
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