Carling Cup: Chelsea v Liverpool Odds and Betting Preview

LONDON, UK - Chelsea entertain Liverpool tonight in the Carling Cup, just over a week since the Londoners slipped to 2-1 defeat against Kenny Dalglish’s side in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.

However, The Blues are strong favourites to win the re-match, and are best-priced at 5/6 with Sky Bet and Victor Chandler. A draw would mean extra-time and can be backed at 13/5 with Betfred, whereas an away win for Liverpool is at a stand-out 4/1 with Stan James.

Chelsea are favoured by the bookies not only because of the home advantage, but also because they have had an extra day to recover for the quarter-final tie since their Premier League exertions at the weekend. Having flopped in the Champions League last week at Leverkusen, Chelsea bounced back to winning ways on Saturday, with a cosy 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Juan Mata was the star of the show with two assists and a goal, but André Villas-Boas has promised to tinker with his side, who last lifted the Carling Cup in 2007 when beating Arsenal in Cardiff. Lukaku, McEachran and Bertrand are all set to start the fixture, alongside some of the more familiar names in the Chelsea squad.

The Reds lost to Chelsea in the 2005 Carling Cup Final in Rafa Benitez’ first season with the club, and fans have to go back to 2003 when the club was last triumphant in the competition, beating Manchester United in the Final with goals from Gerrard and Owen. Nevertheless, they have won the competition a record seven times and can be backed at 7/1 with Blue Square to make it eight in 2012. Liverpool are sending a strong squad to London tonight, although Dalglish has made it clear he is not happy to have to play just 48 hours after the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the league.

Having failed to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2000, Liverpool showed they are taking the Carling Cup seriously when they started Luis Suárez in attack for their Second Round match at Exeter City in August. Craig Bellamy is back in the squad and Jamie Carragher is expected to play against Chelsea, having been out for weeks.

In the correct score betting, the favoured outcome is a 1-1 draw at 13/2 with Ladbrokes, which looks a fair bet considering that Chelsea’s previous two Carling Cup matches have gone to extra-time. A 1-0 home win for The Blues is next at 7/1 with Ladbrokes, whilst 2-0 is at 15/2 with bet365, who will refund losing bets if the game finishes 0-0. A 2-2 thriller is 16/1 with Sky Bet, but a 2-1 win for Liverpool is more tempting at 14/1 with Blue Square considering that they have conceded one goal in each of their three Carling Cup games this season.

Punters should probably wait until the starting XIs are revealed until placing a bet on the first goalscorer market, but bets are refunded by the bookies if your chosen player does not feature at any point in the game. Fernando Torres should get a start against his former side and will attract bets at 11/2 with Irish bookie Paddy Power, whilst Sturridge is in better form and is available at the same odds with bet365. Salomon Kalou is another player who will be eager to impress his manager, and he is of interest at 9/1 with Paddy Power. Liverpool’s strikers Suárez, Carroll and Kuyt can be backed at 17/2, 10/1 and 14/1 respectively with bet365.

Chelsea are 2/5 with bet365 to qualify for the semi-finals, and 19/10 to be leading the game at both half-time and full-time. Punters expecting a tight game may like the 5/1 with Betfred about Draw/Draw, but Chelsea to win in extra-time at 10/1 with bet365 in the ‘method of victory’ market also looks like a massive price.

Finally Torres is 9/1 with Paddy Power to score two or more goals against his former club in the 90 minutes.

The game kicks-off at 7.45pm GMT on Tuesday 29 November, and is available to watch on the bet365 live streaming service.

Chelsea v Liverpool Match Odds

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Chelsea v Liverpool Half-time/Full-time Odds

Chelsea v Liverpool Correct Score Odds

Carling Cup 2011/12 Winner Odds