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Despite snow and freezing weather sweeping across the UK this week, Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says it’s not affecting his side’s preparations for their Europa League tie against Red Bull Salzburg.

City currently sit in 2nd place in Group A, with a win over the group’s bottom team virtually guaranteeing them a spot in the Last 32 of the competition.

Mancini has also given his backing to England’s 2018 World Cup bid, which is decided on this Thursday. The former Inter Milan manager says England’s fans and infrastructure means that the country deserves to host the competition.

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These two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Portman Road in the third round back in the 1969/1970 season, before West Brom won the replay 2-1 at The Hawthorns.

Last year’s Championship matches produced the following results:

Ipswich 1  West Brom 1

West Brom 2  Ipswich 0

Villa won via a 1-0 score-line in each of the two legs when these two teams last met in this competition in round two during the 1993/1994 season.

Villa had previously destroyed Birmingham 7-0 at the same stage of the competition five years earlier.

We have to go back to the first leg of the final in 1963 to find Birmingham’s only victory against their local rivals. 

Birmingham won 3-1 and secured the trophy four days later when drawing 0-0 at Villa Park.

Wigan beat Arsenal via the away goals rule to reach the final of this competition five years ago.

Arsenal reaped some consolation when beating the Latics 3-0 in round four two years later.

Arsenal have met Wigan seven times at home in all competitions.  Arsenal have won all seven games via an 18-4 aggregate score-line.

Out of interest, these two teams have never met in the FA Cup.

Manchester United won the only League Cup match contested between these two sides to date at Old Trafford via a 1-0 result back in October 1985.

United have won the last six games (all competitions) between the two teams (17-1 aggregate score-line).

The last Cup match (FA Cup) was contested at Old Trafford in January 2003 which United won 6-0.

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Midweek Europa League Match predictions

The Champions League is the european club competition that gets all the glamour, prestige, finance & indeed the coverage of the world’s media usually but it’s the turn of the Europa League to take centre stage this week and there are 24 fascinating Europa League ties for us all to get stuck into.

Now given how widespread this competition goes & how many countries it covers, there is the challenge of knowing as much as we can about some of the lesser known teams in terms of team news & more importantly in terms of how seriously some of the teams take this competition but we have endeavoured to do our best & here are our predictions for all 24 Europa League ties taking place on wednesday & thursday this week:

Europa League predictions for Wednesday:

HAJDUK SPLIT to beat Aek Athens 2-0/2-1
METALIST KHARKIV to beat Debrecen 2-1/3-1
ODENSE vs GETAFE DRAW 1-1/2-2
SAMPDORIA to beat PSV 2-1/3-1
YOUNG BOYS vs STUTTGART DRAW 1-1/2-2
ZENIT ST PETERSBURG to beat Anderlect 2-1/3-1
ATLETICO MADRID to beat Aris Selonika 2-0/3-0
GENT to beat Levski Sofia 2-0/2-1
JUVENTUS to beat Lech Poznan 2-0/2-1
MANCHESTER CITY to beat Salzburg 2-0/3-0
ROSENBERG vs BAYER LEVERKUSEN DRAW 1-1/2-2
SPORTING to beat Lille 2-1/3-1

Europa League predictions for Thursday:

CSK MOSCOW to beat Lausanne 3-0/3-1
CSKA SOFIA vs BESIKTAS DRAW 1-1/2-2
DORTMUND to beat Karpaty Lviv 3-0/4-0
FC UTRECHT vs NAPOLI DRAW 1-1/2-2
SEVILLA to beat PSG 2-1/3-1
PORTO to beat Rapid Vienna 2-1/3-1
STEAU BUCHAREST vs LIVERPOOL DRAW 1-1/2-2
BATE vs DYNAMO KIEV DRAW 1-1/2-2
AZ ALKMAAR to beat FC Sheriff 2-1/3-1
PALERMO to beat Sparta Prague 2-0/3-0
PAOK SALONIKA to beat Club Brugge 2-0/3-0
VILLAREAL to beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0/3-0

Well those are our views for the midweek Europa League matches & hopefully you find them interesting & informative and that they help guide you towards successful punts on what should prove to be a truly fascinating set of Europa League matches.

Remember to check the latest team news before you bet & also to shop around for the best odds & best terms available and good luck with whatever bets you have

Carling Cup Quarter Final Match Previews

The Carling Cup has reached the Quarter Final stage now with only 8 teams left & all of them only a few steps away from a glamour final at Wembley so there is absolutely everything to play for here.

We have had a good look at all the Carling Cup ties & here are our views on the matches & the betting recommendations we feel offer value & well worth consideration:

West Ham United vs Manchester United – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

Now as far we know & the last time we checked, Christmas Day is supposed to fall on 25th December & that is the day you are supposed to get your presents so why then are the bookies offering punters a big one on the 30th November?

Christmas looks to have come early for punters with the bookies offering 4/6 for a Manchester United win here & while that will sound dismissive of West Ham United, a potential 66% profit for investing in Manchester United to win this tie seems too good to miss.

Yes we know it’s the Cup & so anything can happen and indeed with the Carling Cup we know that managers change their teams around & try different things but surely 4/6 for a Manchester United win has to be call in this one

Manchester United are top of the Premier League on 31 points while West Ham United are bottom on 12 points, Manchester Unite are unbeaten so far this season & have not lost a competitive game in any competition since April while West Ham have already lost 7 & only won 2 matches this season.

Manchester United have scored 48 goals in all competitions while West Ham United have only scored 19 goals & conceded 28 and whichever way you look at this fixture, everything points towards Manchester United & there is not one statistic to give West Ham hope in this one.

Of course statistics & form in other competition does not always work out the way we expect & West Ham United may well see this as a welcome break from their relegation struggles & indeed do come here after a confidence boosting home win against Wigan so they will be up & will again want to put on a show for their fans.

West Ham United vs Manchester United matches always have a particular edge to them, generating a really good atmosphere & usually excellent tempo to the games & we are expecting much the same this time & indeed this should be a competitive match but the absolute key is team selection for Manchester United & assuming United play a relatively strong side, they should have too much quality for West Ham United here & they can book their semi-final spot.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Manchester United to win
Correct Score options: Manchester United 2-1/3-1
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Rooney/Gibson/Hernandez
Scorecast options: Rooney/Gibson/Hernandez score first & Man United win 2-1/3-1
Double Result: Manchester United H/T & F/T

Arsenal vs Wigan – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

The West Ham United vs Manchester United Quarter Final places top against bottom & this clash of Arsenal vs Wigan represents a similar gap with 3rd top against 3rd bottom & another one sided looking match in prospect.

As we said before this is the Carling Cup & we know that anything is possible & Arsenal have been strangely vulnerable at home this season but the odds of 2/7 for an Arsenal win tell you what the bookies think & to be fair those odds while very short do look entirely fair.

Now we know that Arsene Wenger has always treated the Carling Cup as part of his training plan for his younger players & that usually meant that the major players were rested & young reserves were drafted in but we don’t expect that this time as Arsene Wenger knows he is under great pressure to win silverware this year.

We are expecting Arsene Wenger & the Arsenal players to take this match very seriously and while some of the major players may get rested or put on the bench, we are expecting Arsenal to play a very strong side & go all out for their place in the Semi-Finals.

With regards to Wigan then all we know for sure is that they will look to play good, controlled passing football because that is the way Roberto Martinez gets all his sides to play but what we don’t know is how Wigan will actually perform as they are unpredictable & can go from being brilliant to poor week to week & even during the 90 minutes of the match.

Wigan are on a bad run, don’t look to have any real quality about them & are struggling for confidence so surely this match is simply a case of Arsenal’s mental approach & form and assuming Arsenal hit the ground running in this match then a comfortable Arsenal win looks the only sensible way to go in this one.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Arsenal to win
Correct Score options: Arsenal to win 3-0/4-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bendtner/Van Persie/Walcott
Scorecast options: Bendtner/Van Persie/Walcott score 1st & Arsenal win 3-0/4-0
Double Result: Arsenal H/T & F/T

Birmingham City vs Aston Villa – (Wednesday 7.45pm)

Local pride & bragging rights for their respective fans are usually the main prizes up for grabs whenever local rivals meet but this time Birmingham City vs Aston Villa are both chasing valuable places in the Semi-Final of the Carling Cup & we are expecting that to really raise the stakes for this Battle of Birmingham.

Intensely competitive, physically challenging matches are par for the course when Birmingham City & Aston Villa clash and of course the other key factor is the pressures that come with not wanting to lose to their fiercest rivals so we are expecting another battle here.

The last 3 games between these two sides have only produced 2 goals, with two tight 1-0 wins for Aston Villa & a 0-0 from earlier this season & clearly those statistics don’t bode well for those looking for entertainment & goals but the fact this is a cup game & not a Premier League game might just change that.

Both Birmingham City & Aston Villa are struggling towards the bottom end of the Premier League sitting 14th & 15th respectively but league form doesn’t matter so much coming into this cup match & hopefully both teams will forget about the fear of losing & go for the win here.

Looking at the betting market for this then we have to admit that neither side appeals as a win bet & the fact the draw is the only betting option that appeals fits in with our expectations that this will be fiercely competitive, physically intense & a battle that may well need extra-time & penalties to decide the winner.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Jerome/Larsson/Young
Scorecast options: Jerome/Larsson/Young score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T

Ipswich Town vs West Brom – (Wednesday 7.45pm)

It’s Christmas present time again folks as the bookies offer of odds against for a West Brom win here looks a great value, gift wrapped bet we will gladly place on this one.

West Brom have had a mixed season in the Premier League but when you consider they went to Arsenal and won, went to Manchester United and got a 2-2 draw after being 2-0 down & incredibly went to Everton & won 4-1 then surely another away win should come in this one.

Obviously we have to respect Ipswich Town as the hosts in the game & Roy Keane will want his players to show character & pride after being dumped 4-1 by their local rivals Norwich City but surely if West Brom take this game seriously then they should have too much quality & get the job done.

Roberto Di Matteo will surely take this game seriously & play a very strong West Brom side and Ipswich Town will not want to go down without a fight so this should be a decent, competitive game with a few goals to come but in terms of a bet we have to take the great value present that is the odds against quote for a West Brom win, cheers bookies.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: West Brom win
Correct Score options: West Brom win 2-1/3-1
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Brunt/Dorrans/Odemwinge
Scorecast options: Brunt/Dorrans/Odemwinge score 1st & West Brom win 2-1/3-1
Double Result: West Brom H/T & F/T
Well those are our views for the Carling Cup Quarter Final matches and we hope you find them interesting & informative and that they help guide you towards successful punts on what should prove to be another truly fascinating & dramatic set of Carling Cup matches.

Remember to check the latest team news before you bet & also to shop around for the best odds & best terms available and good luck with whatever bets you have.

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