Arsenal has a short jaunt to White Hart Lane Tuesday night to battle rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Carling Cup. There is plenty of value in the match with no clear winner for bookmakers on account of each club’s talent.
Both clubs will probably rotate their players to give their Premier League talent some rest and to give other players regularly relegated the bench an opportunity to show their skills. Over the last few years, Arsenal has used their youth to succeed in the Carling Cup. In 2007, they reached the final but lost to Chelsea. Their likely starting striker is Marouane Chamakh from Morroco, a good bet for first goalscorer. The other strikers for the Gunners are likely to be Carlos Vela, midfielder Jack Wilshere and winger Henri Lansbury. Vela scored in the Champions League match against SC Braga last week.
The Spurs are likely to throw some new talent in the mix as well with Brazilian midfielder Sandro Ranieri. The club spent £8 million on him and we should see his debut. Other likely starters are Giovani Dos Santos, Niko Kranjcar, Kyle Naughton, Robbie Keane and Stipe Peltikosa at goalkeeper. Alan Hutton and Roman Pavlyuchenko both scored on Saturday against Wolverhampton and are likely to round out the lineup. Pavlyuchenko has good value for first goalscorer.
Tottenham won the last match between the teams, winning 2-1 at White Hart Lane in an April Premier League match. They also beat Arsenal 5-1 at White Hart Lane in a 2008 League Cup match. However, Arsenal has won four of the last 10 matches and the other four resulted in draws. The Spurs should take this one at home based on experience.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal Match Odds (provided by Titan Bet)
Tottenham Hotspur: 2.21
Draw: 3.25
Arsenal: 2.95