Carling Cup Final: Scoreline Tip

There are obvious parallels between Sunday’s Carling Cup Final and the 2011 edition between Arsenal and Birmingham City. Last year the underdogs triumphed against one of the game’s famous teams who were desperate to end a trophy drought. And here we go again. Cardiff City, of the Championship, face a Liverpool side who haven’t claimed a major trophy since 2006. So will there be another upset?

Well, the first thought is that Cardiff may have more hope than the 8/1 (Boylesports) on them to win in 90 minutes suggest. We can assume that both teams will have some nerves, Liverpool due to the weight of expectation on their shoulders. The key for the Welsh side will be to stop the Reds scoring that early goal that will surely relax them.

If they do that then this should be a close encounter. The Bluebirds are clearly one of the top Championship sides, and they will be desperate to be playing these opponents in league competition in 2012-13. Malky Mackay has well-drilled players who comprise an organised team, the like of which Liverpool have routinely struggled to breakdown at Anfield this season.

But Liverpool are not Arsenal, despite the obvious comparisons. In Steven Gerrard, Craig Bellamy and the controversial Luis Suarez, they have match winners who can make the difference out of nowhere. For this reason, I’m going for a 2-1 victory for Liverpool at best odds of 8/1 with Bet365.