8/9th Jan: Carling Cup Semi's

[Viktor]

Great work Fasteddy. Such a bad luck in the end with your correct result 1-1 in the Chelsea - Everton match
Even in Arsenal - Spurs case, nothing to add to your quality preview. Personally I have to agree with Berbatov, high score and some kind of Tottenham success due to changes in Gunners squad.
There is revange factor in heads of Spurs players and I am sure that this match will be really great to watch

[fasteddy]

Appreciate the comments , folks!....thank you. Still gutted , though!

Well done, Cinny...you called the win ,and at a nice price as well.

As for tonite....

I'm a big fan of Arsenal , in fact I have them at 13.00 to win the league...and happy with them on that front.

In these Cups, though , I always see them as having slightly less dominance in real terms, but of course they continually prove to be up to every task thrown at them.
Spurs are so unpredictable it drives you mad, however, they do have the talent to take this Arsenal side down....but will they?

If Wenger does as he says and fields his 'young' players, then Eduardo/Nik will be up front. The Dane can be a bit immature in his play, while Eddyboy is far from a polished finisher. Tottenham's Dawson knows how to wind players up...so watch that battle.

Now the same cannot be said of Berbatov/Keane...although Robbie has had the yips lately. Given that Ramos has shown himself to be a very shrewd judge in the art of 'subbing' , I can see a closely fought match resulting in the impact of 'subs'.....and Defoe is still a brilliant asset to have on the bench, while RVP will make his presence felt as well, if given a shou, but Defoe has the sharper game at the moment.

Arsenal's 3-2 over Blackburn was the best result for Wenger in terms of settling and bonding the side. Wins like that always have such a deep affect on those involved, and against Burnley we saw how they kept all the fundamentals intact. They're maturing.

Goals will be scored....no question of that, and at both ends...so maybe this becomes a bet on which group can get in gear quicker, plus which of them do you think will react better if going a goal down?....my cash would be on Arsenal for the former, but Spurs on the latter!

I'm just looking forward to a great spectacle....and hoping for a little win.

[fasteddy]

meant to add......

Spurs face Chelsea on Monday in the league, and if they can take a win or a
draw back to White Hart Lane tonight , then get something from the Chelsea match, I believe the momentum will be pivotal on the overall Cup Final line up.

Everton would get a boost from a poor Chelsea result, while Spurs would be gangbanging for the 2nd leg vs Arsenal.

I've already backed Spurs +0.50 for their Monday game.....Come On!

[jimmyt]

Djourou and Senderos just do not fill me with confidence as a CB pairing and on the basis they are up against Berbatov and Keane most probably I cant see Spurs not scoring at least once tonight. I can even see Spurs scoring twice tonight if they get an early goal and then the question is asked how many arsenal ?? The more I think about this game the more im tempted by a high scoring game the question is which way will it go ??

[Cinny]

Called the win mate but very lucky at that! Especially with 10 men. I think tonight will be a tight game but fancy Arsenal to edge it, also very interested in backing Eduardo to score anytime as hes in great form at the minute!

[Crazyfool]

Great write ups fasteddie, unlucky last night with the 1-1

Very difficult to call tonights game, as jimmyt says if Djourou and Sendero's are the back pairing tonight then you have to fancy spurs to at least score. It pains me to say it but if Spurs field a strong team then they may be able to get something out of tonight against the 'kids'.

Just one bet for a bit of interest tonight for me as this could go either way and thats Berbatov to score anytime @ 3.2 as I think he could give Senderos a torrid time

[allthethings]

Soccer - Arsenal/Tottenham - total Over 2½ (-119)
for the regulation time held on Jan 9 at 2:45pm [pending]

I argued against this at -160 this morning, but I think I'll have a bit.

Tottenham for all its defensive problems have only gone over 45% of its away games...it's at home where they really have had problems. On the other hand they've kept one clean sheet away all season, so when they don't go over it's 1-1. For this game their defensive missings might actually be a good thing, who knows?

The thing that convinced me to give it a go here is that the Spurs are the kind of team that can play a competitive, goal for goal kind of game, but they're also capable of falling apart at the back and losing 3-0.

[ONEDUNME]

I can't agree with the idea that some of you have that there are going to be a lot of goals tonight. The difference between tonight and a normal league game for Spurs is that they aren't under pressure to win. A draw would be a great result for them, which leaves just one minor problem, they defend like the St Winifreds Girl's Choir.

But I still see them putting bodies behind the ball and ending up with a draw or, at worst, a 1-0 loss which gives them plenty to go for at home.

It's all about predictions and I know it's a bold prediction but I'm confident enough to say that if King plays 90 minutes tonight, you can forget your overs bets in my view. The value is on the under 2.5s.

[ONEDUNME]

Mind you, if Dawson plays, Arsenal could score ten.

[ONEDUNME]

Arsenal Spurs game has been delayed by 15 mins and is now a 8pm kick off due to rail delays.

[fasteddy]

Nice call, ODM...spot on. King was a big difference in the game.

Much like the last meeting ,when it looked like a 1-1 but Bendtner nicked a 2-1 win, it was quite tight.

Spurs play the same style of passing game and Arsenal were 2nd best a lot of the match. Very soft goal by Walcott, allowed to slip between the back 4 like that and then getting a deflection, but that's the problem with Spurs all over.

Is it me or does anyone else think that Berbatov is nothing like as good 'away' as he is at 'home'? It's amazing to count how many moves break down with his play......he lacks a burst of pace to be a really top top striker, in my opinion, plus he never looks comfortable with too many passes in a buildup....happy with the one touch + shoot style....so many moves stopped due to him last night...but iverall Spurs showed improvement and players like O'Hara are really bringing a lot more to the set up.

Bring on Chelsea!