Carling Cup Betting: Man City favourites after Wolves victory

Carling Cup / Michael Lintorn / 27 October 2011 /

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Edin Dzeko made it four goals in four days with another double at Wolves

"Four Football League clubs have reached the semi-finals in the last five years."

Manchester City have been backed in to lift the Carling Cup after easing past Wolves, but there's a case for backing one of the Championship's survivors...

Five of the Premier League's "big six" will be in Saturday's Carling Cup quarter-final draw after Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Blackburn joined Manchester United, Arsenal, Cardiff and Crystal Palace in the last eight.

Whether that is a sign of the big guns taking the competition more seriously than they were a few years ago or that the gulf in class between them and the rest of the pack is growing ever larger is unclear, with both probably a factor.

Manchester City completely changed the team that stunned Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday but their second string still ran riot at Molineux, beating a fairly strong Wolves side 5-2 to reassume favourites status at [3.9].

Things weren't quite so easy for Liverpool and Chelsea on the road, as the Reds were forced to come from behind to hand Stoke their second home defeat of 2011, with Luis Suarez is sensational form, and Chelsea required extra time to win at Everton.

The 2005 final opponents are both among the frontrunners to land the trophy at [6.2] and [6.0] respectively, with only Aldershot-conquering Manchester United separating the pair from the Citizens at [4.3].

Newcastle meanwhile were taken to extra time for the third round in a row, yet this time failed to progress despite a quite incredible comeback from 2-0 down in injury time at Blackburn. Instead, it was Steve Kean celebrating a much-needed 4-3 triumph, though his men remain [32.0] outsiders.

That price is nothing however compared to the [100.0] available on Crystal Palace and Cardiff, and if the last few years of Carling Cup action are anything to go by, a window may exist for backing one of the Championship pair with a view to a semi-final lay.

Four Football League clubs have reached the semi-finals in the last five years, and if they do so and are drawn at home first, don't be afraid to hang on longer - 11 of the last 12 matches at that stage have been won by the hosts.

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