Carling Cup betting – Birmingham City vs Aston Villa

Birmingham City vs Aston Villa betting preview

Birmingham City     League Form: DDLDWD     League Position: 14th
Birmingham City recorded their eighth league draw of the season last time out at Fulham but still haven’t won on their travels for eight months. They are however, unbeaten in their last three which has included a good draw away at Man City and a home win against Chelsea, although they have struggled for goals as of late. Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson scored his first goal of the season last time out, and the former Arsenal player is a worth a bet at 5/1 to score at any time with Sporting Bet. Former Villa midfielder Craig Gardener could be fit for the visit of their local rivals, while Maik Taylor and James McFadden will still miss out.

Aston Villa     League Form: DDWDLL     League Position: 15th

Aston Villa endured their first home league defeat of the season at the weekend and have found themselves at the wrong end of the table in recent weeks. But they will be looking to put that behind them when they travel to local rivals Birmingham City on Wednesday with the chance to progress to the semi-final of the Carling Cup. Attacking midfielder Ashley Young has got two goals in the competition so far this season and is a very good price at 8/1 to open the scoring with Stan James. Unfortunately for Villa they will travel the short distance to St Andrews with an extensive injury list that includes, Marc Albrighton, Carlos Cuellar, Emile Heskey, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell.

Match Prediction     Birmingham WIN Best priced at 11/8 with SkyBet

Both sides struggled through the last round of the competition with Birmingham needing penalties to overcome Brentford and Aston Villa needing extra time to beat Burnley. However, Birmingham’s improved defensive record and home advantage should be enough to see them through against a Villa side that have conceded 10 goals in their last 4 games. Although Birmingham have struggled to find consistency in front of goal this season and so the Blue’s to win 1-0 could give a decent return at 7/1 with Stan James. The two met in a 0-0 draw at Villa in the league earlier this season and this could be another tight game that could go all the way to penalties. However Birmingham have lost the last 3 meetings between the two at home, and will be looking to turn that around.

Highlighted Bets

Half Time/Full Time – Draw/Birmingham 9/2 William Hill
Birmingham to win on penalties – 9/1 Paddy Power
Birmingham to win 1-0 – 7/1 Stan James

By Sam Markham

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