Carling League Cup: Chelsea vs EvertonStamford Bridge will on Tuesday be the battlefield of the first round of Carling Cup semifinals, and Grant together with the stars of Chelsea will have to give their best if they want to stop the creating of bad tradition in duels against Everton. Actually, Chelsea haven’t managed to beat the Toffees at Stamford for the last two seasons. In the last match played about two months ago, Everton reached the draw in the final moments of the game and this fact showed an obvious difference between Mourinho\'s and Grant\'s Chelsea. Mourinho won matches in the final minutes, and besides the fact that Chelsea are marking victories, hardly anyone is assured that they have the chance for the title besides excellent Arsenal and Manchester United.
This week the team from London managed to reach a not so easy victory over QPR in FA Cup. The fans of the Blues can hardly be satisfied with the play of the team in that match but on the other hand they can be satisfied with the return of Drogba on the field. Drogba repeated this week that he wishes to leave the club which confirmed the doubts that things are not so perfect inside the team. The only ones that can be satisfied are Ballack and Shevchenko who got more space in the play, but if Chelsea continue to play like this against strong teams they won’t take points easily.
Everton, on the other hand are eliminated from FA Cup, giving a very unpleasant surprise to their fans with a defeat at home at Goodison Park against the weak Oldham. Still, this defeat seems as the result of a bad day and the change of standard line-up, more than the result of bad form. In the last few weeks Arsenal and Manchester United were the only teams that managed to beat Everton. They are convincing away and they proved their form in this year’s match against Middlesbrough.
Carling Cup is a specific competition where the teams rarely field their strongest line-ups. Still, the semifinals of the Carling Cup is a chance for the trophy and we doubt that Moyes will abandon his standard form. Great advantage of Everton is that the rematch is played at Goodison so it is certain that they will play more defensive at Stamford Bridge in order to keep the score that would keep them in the game till 22nd of January. We believe that Chelsea will field their strongest line-up, since they will have 6 days of break before the great London derby played on Monday against the Spurs, so it is hard to expect Grant to combine and rest the players.
Odds for Chelsea to win are unexpectedly high since we are not used to see odds of 1.70 for home win at Stamford Bridge. On the other hand, after two consecutive draws that Everton achieved in London, it is hard to decide for such bet. Same odds are offered for betting on under 2.5 goals and we believe that it is a better option considering the quality of defense and style of play of both teams. The significance of the match will bring about a somewhat cautious play of both rivals which should also result in a small number of goals.
Our tip: Bet 5 on Under 2.5 goals
odds 1.7 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers
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