Carling Cup; 4th round preview (Part 1)
Five matches will be played on the 26th of October in the 4th round of matches in Football League Cup. The League Cup is also known as The Carling Cup; the name coming from the current sponsors of the competition.
Tuesday night fixtures will feature five English Premier League clubs; Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic.
Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Four-time League Cup winners and current holders of the cup, Manchester United, will take on Wolves at Old Trafford.
United are clear favourites to win the game against Wolves. The Red Devils booked their place in the 4th round by defeating League Championship side Scunthorpe United in the previous round. Alex Ferguson will have one
eye on Saturday’s crunch match with Tottenham Hotspur, and so, may opt to give his younger players a start.
Wayne Rooney is still injured for United, but Michael Owen maybe given a run-in. Owen scored a brace in the 3rd round League Cup match against Scunthorpe United.
Tuesday night also could be marked with a return to first team action by long-time injury stricken Owen Hargreaves. The English midfielder made his last appearance for the Red Devils in May last season. Fergie was not in a mood
to rush the return of his player, as Hargreaves was not even included in the 1st team squad, which faced Stoke City on Sunday. The 29-year old England international’s last competitive start for United was against Chelsea, back in September 2008.
Wolves will be looking to beat the odds by knocking out Manchester United and reach the quarterfinals of the competition. However, it will be a most unlikely result, as United are very strong at home and Wolves have not been in
decent form all season. Wolves’ only win in the English Premier League came at the expense of Stoke City, on the opening day of the season.
Mick McCarthy’s men won against Notts County FC in the 3rd round of The Carling Cup. The match was tied by 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes, before a brace in extra time by Kevin Doyle made the final score 4-2, and sealed
their berth in the 4th round.
Birmingham City vs. Brentford
Birmingham City will host the Football League One side Brentford F.C. on Tuesday night.
Birmingham had an easy win against Milton Keynes FC in the last round, where they beat the League One side 3-1.
Blues will be looking to avoid an upset when they play Brentford, who pulled off a shock victory against Everton in the last round earlier. The team from the third tier of English football beat The Toffees in a penalty shoot-out,
after the match ended in a 1-1 draw at the end of normal and extra time.
Although, Brentford have a decent form coming into the game, having won three of their last four League One matches, a trip to St. Andrew’s will be an altogether different affair for The Bees.
Birmingham City manager, Alex McLeish is expected to include reserve team players in the starting line-up, as the Blues have a crucial upcoming fixture against Aston Villa on Sunday in the English Premier League.
Tags: