Carling Cup Final Preview

Arsenal are the red-hot favourites to claim the first major silverware of the season with the bookies currently sniffing out too much interest in them at just 8/15. One could be forgiven for thinking that Birmingham City have been mistaken for lower league opposition at a best price of 7/1 with StanJames.

Make no mistake that this a Carling Cup Final that both sides will be desperate to win. Gone are the days when this competition was small fry to Arsenal. Yes, they still crave other trophies even more, but beggars won’t be choosers after a drought going back to 2005. For Birmingham, any cup final will always be a big deal. It’s ten years since they were cruelly denied the league cup on a penalty shootout against Liverpool and nearly 50 years since they won the competition for the one and only time.

Both sides have injuries to contend with. Theo Walcott will miss the trip to Wembley after been stretchered off against Stoke in midweek while Cesc Fabregas only lasted 15 minutes and is unlikely to be risked if there’s any doubt over his fitness. Birmingham have yet to come to terms with the absence of key defender Scott Dann who was injured in the semi-final and is out for the season.

With the winner market looking pretty unappealing unless you really fancy an upset, first goalscorer might whet the appetite. Samir Nasri looks like a standout option at 6/1 with bet365 having scored in all three of his previous games against the Blues. Meanwhile, Nicklas Bendtner is 11/2 with SkyBet having netted six in his last seven Carling Cup matches. For Birmingham, Nikola Zigic and new recruit Obafemi Martins are both available at 10/1 with bet365 and Betfred respectively.