Arsenal’s chances of winning the Carling Cup have been handed a big boost with Arsene Wenger’s decision to reverse his usual mindset with regards to the competition, deciding now to take it seriously rather than regard it as an opportunity to blood young talent. Tonight, his side will take on a team which pulled off the shock of the round on their way to setting up this fixture, with Newcastle beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a thrilling tie.
It seems likely that Arsenal will arrive at St James’s Park later today with the intention of fielding a strong starting line-up, whilst their opponents may choose to try out a few youngsters and players who would normally find themselves warming the bench on a weekend in the league. Newcastle’s precarious Premier League status means that they need to make the domestic league their focus, rather than risk becoming too involved in the Cup competitions. Manager Chris Hughton has admitted just that and may change his team tonight accordingly.
Newcastle performed very well in the last round against Chelsea, despite not fielding a strong first 11, and they should be able to put on an equally impressive display tonight against an Arsenal side that traditionally finds it relatively tough in the northern grounds of English football. However, whether it will be enough to prevent an Arsenal side full of confidence after a morale-boosting victory in the league against title rivals Manchester City last weekend from scoring remains to be seen. The likely answer to that question, in all honesty, is not one that Newcastle fans will want to hear.
Backing an Arsenal win won’t offer much value given the team they’re likely to field tonight. However, a correct score prediction of 3-1 to the away side could be the way to go, with Arsenal always liable to concede, even against weaker opposition. You should be able to find some decent prices for this scoreline, especially on betting exchanges (if you don’t yet know how exchange betting works, it’s really worth learing how Betfair works).
If you want even more value from tonight’s game, consider backing Theo Walcott to score. The winger is making his comeback from injury after coming on as a substititute at the weekend and Wenger may use tonight’s game as an opportunity to give the talented Englishman more playing time as he seeks to recover full fitness. With Walcott in decent goalscoring form prior to his latest injury, backing him to excel tonight could be a smart move.
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