Carling Cup winner betting odds

Chelsea and Manchester United are proving impossible for bookmakers to separate as they head the market for this season`s Carling Cup. Both sides are 13/2 (bet £20 to win £130 profit) to win the trophy, which one or the other has done in five of the past six seasons. United are the current holders after beating Aston Vila 2-1 in last year`s final.

Both sides are likely to use the competition to blood their younger players, who may not be playing every week in the Premier League. Chelsea certainly took that approach last season and crashed out to Blackburn on penalties, while Sir Alex Ferguson changed his team in every round.

Manchester City, however, are looking to make a name for themselves and have an extremely deep pool of talent at their disposal. Their second eleven would be a decent Premier League side and even if they rest their stars they could go a long way this season. They are slightly longer than United and Chelsea, available at 7/1 with Sky Bet and Bet 365.

Liverpool are next in the betting but they are likely to be focusing on regaining their lost Champions League spot this season and could rest injury-prone stars such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. There is not too much to choose from outside of their first-team and odds of 12/1 on Betfair don`t seem particularly generous.

North London`s Arsenal and Tottenham are both 13/1 on Betfair to win a competition they approach very differently. Arsene Wenger has called the Carling Cup a `non-trophy` and insists on fielding youngsters, with his teams often having an average age of around twenty years old. With this in mind, they are unlikely to go too far, especially given that his most talented youth will be called upon in the league this campaign.

Harry Redknapp, however, respects the competition and led Spurs to the final in 2009. They beat Chelsea in the final in 2008 and given that they will want to win and have good strength in depth, they may be the best value in the market at the moment. One concern, however, may be that their fixture schedule will be fuller than in previous seasons after their top four finish puts them in line for a Champions League place.

Other sides of note include Aston Villa, who are 16/1 with Stan James, and Everton, who are generally available at the same price. Fulham may be an interesting long-shot at 40/1 given their incredible showing in the Europa League last season, where they beat the likes of Wolfsburg, Juventus and Hamburg on their way to the final.

Carling Cup first round betting odds

Carling Cup winner betting odds

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