Carling Cup Semi-Final Betting

Why do we bother with Carling Cup two-legged semi-finals? Not only an unnecessary extra game in a country that has a problem with fixture congestion but, if the bookies are right, the first games changed absolutely nothing. Arsenal are still overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy - best odds of 8/13 with StanJames - and that’s after losing 1-0 to Ipswich. Presumably if they had got a result then the silverware would have been handed over on Wednesday night.

Ipswich need only ‘park the bus’ at the Emirates the week after next and if that secures a 0-0 draw then one win over a struggling Premier League side will do the job. Sounds possible but Bodog are confident enough to offer you 16/1 if you want to back the outsider to lift the Cup.

A narrow 2-1 win for West Ham at home to Birmingham left that tie on the classic knife edge. Perhaps unfairly, the result seems to have done absolutely nothing to help Avram Grant’s fragile position at Upton Park. Maybe he should tell the board that the Hammers are now slight favourites to make it to Wembley, with best value odds of 17/4 offered by bwin.com. The two weeks until the re-match at St Andrews must seem a long way off for the former Chelsea and Pompey boss. Will he be former West Ham manager by then as well?

Such is the confidence that Bodog has in Arsenal that it also offers joint best price at 5/1 on Birmingham lifting the trophy. Victor Chandler, Bluesquare and 888sport are in total agreement.