Carling Cup / Jaymes Monte / 21 September 2009 / 1

This won't be your standard third round league cup tie as Leeds look to seize a rare opportunity to flex their muscle against one of the big boys. Jaymes Monte takes a look at why it might not be such a straight forward task for the Premier League outfit. Best Bet: Back Over 2.5 goals @ [2.0]

As soon as the draw was made there was no doubt that this match would be selected for the Sky cameras. The pre-match build up will surround Leeds United and the two sides contrasting recent fortunes. It will serve as a stark reminder of Leeds' dramatic fall from grace in recent years but also as an incentive, if any is needed, to return to the Premier League as soon as possible.

The last remaining tickets for the tie were sold on Saturday morning and Elland Road will be full to its 40,000 capacity for the first time this season. We saw in last season's play-off semi-finals that the Leeds faithful are still more than capable of creating a raucous atmosphere and this certainly won't have the feel of a drab league cup tie that is often apparent in these early stages.

Rafael Benitez has used the early rounds of the league cup as an opportunity to field some of his squad players in past years, and I see no reason as to why he would change that habit for this game. It means we can expect to see the likes of Ryan Babel, David Ngog and Nabil El Zhar in the starting line-up at Elland Road and that often makes it difficult to anticipate how the match might unfold.

I'm inclined to think that Leeds will treat the Liverpool second string with the respect that they deserve and field a full strength side that will include the much sought after Jermaine Beckford. Leeds have yet to lose a game this season dropping just two points in their league campaign and top the League One table, this will be no easy task for the visitors who sit 31 places above them in the football pyramid.

Unsurprisingly Liverpool are chalked up as the heavy odds on favourites, weighing in at around the [1.6] mark, but that's not a price that I'd be rushing to back them at. It may pay to have small lay of the away side with a view to trading out if they hit the [2.0] mark. Although Leeds are a long way from making a return to the promised land of the Premier League, their early season form shows that they are now a much better side than their League One status suggests.

Goals have been aplenty in Liverpool matches this season, five of their seven fixtures to date have ended with four or more goals and Leeds won 4-1 in their league encounter against Gillingham at the weekend. So I think it would be safe to expect to see the net rippling a few times on Tuesday night and with over 2.5 goals available at [2.0] I'd suggest a back at that price.

Another interesting angle to look at involving goals is the 'To Score' market. Fernando Torres will be priced around the [2.0] mark and with a high possibility of him not being in the starting line-up that has to be a cracking lay. If he doesn't enter the field of play at any stage your bet will be void, but if he is thrown on from the substitute's bench for the final ten minutes you'll be in an extremely advantageous position.

All involved with Leeds United Football Club will see this as an ideal opportunity to show that this club has now turned the corner and is firmly on the road to recovering its top flight status. A result against Liverpool certainly wouldn't signal the end of that road but it would go a long way to restoring the faith of the locals and reignite the buzz around a football club bereft of any hope in recent history.

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1. jass | 21 September 2009

   leeds win sure

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