The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi finals take place this week and first up is Tuesday's clash between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford.
We are down to 4 teams with Leicester and Aston Villa contesting the other semi final. As normal these semi finals will be settled over 2 legs with the returns due to take place just before the end of January. In the outright betting to lift the trophy City are 13/20 favourites, Leicester are next best at around 3/1, United can be backed at 19/4 and Villa are the outsiders of the party at 25/2.
Man United
United booked a semi final place with a 3-0 home win over League 2 side Colchester. Their stand out result was a 2-1 win at Chelsea whilst penalty kicks were needed to see off Rochdale of League 1 at Old Trafford.
At the weekend United drew their FA Cup third round tie at Wolves 0-0, adding another game to a schedule which also includes the race for a top 4 Premier League finish, the Europa League knockout rounds and this competition.
League form over Christmas and New Year was hit and miss. A 2-0 defeat at Watford was followed by wins at home to Newcastle (4-1) and at Burnley (2-0) before a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal. United are fifth in the Premier League standings, 13 points behind third placed City but they have lost just the 1 league game at Old Traford.
Man City
City are the holders of this trophy and their defence of the League Cup has comprised of wins at Preston (3-0), at home to Southampton (3-1) and away at Oxford (also 3-1).
At the weekend City were 4-1 winners at home to League 2 side Port Vale to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup. Over the festive period City won 3 of 4 league games. They were most impressive in beating Leicester (3-1) in a home fixture before going down 3-2 at Wolves. More recently they completed back to back home wins over Sheffield United (2-0) and Everton (2-1).
City are all of 14 points behind Liverpool in a title race which looks done and dusted but they still have this competition, the FA Cup and the Champions League on their radar for the remainder of this campaign.
Head to Head
United were surprise winners of the only league meeting this season, coming out on top 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on 7th December.
Last season City completed the league double over United including a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
The Betting
City are favourites to win this first leg at around 13/20, the draw is 63/20 and United can be backed at 77/20.
Both teams to score is 13/20 and a game of 3 goals or more is trading at the same price.
The Verdict:
Although the second leg is still to come I see goals here and probably for both sides. For a bet I will side with a game of 3 goals or more with both sides contributing to the scoring.
Bet: Both Teams To Score + Totals 2.5 Goals at 19/20
