Barcelona-Rayo Vallecano o3.5
Barcelona lost to Getafe in the previous round and that raised a big question mark in front of the team ambitions to win La Liga. That was the first defeat for Barcelona in all competitions this season, an emotion that they haven't felt since 30th April. Anyway, Barcelona were having difficulties to play away from home this season, they only managed to by a goal margin against Gijon and Granada, drew with Valencia, Sociedad and Valencia... I expect a reaction from Barca today, they need to prove a point and show that they are in the game. The team is 6-1-0 at home with 30:0 goal difference.
Rayo Vallecano are in the middle of the table with 16 points and they will be battling for every point in order to avoid relegation. The team already achieved two away wins this season - 0:1 over Getafe and 0:2 over Betis. Real Madrid (6:2) and Villarreal (2:0) had no problems beating them and now it's time for Barcelona's test. 2-3-2 for Rayo Vallecano away from home and 7:10 goal difference.
Barcelona should bounce back after the defeat to Getafe and there's no better way winning this game comprehensively. Barcelona achieved some big wins this season - 4:0 over Zaragoza, 5:0 over Mallorca, 5:0 over Atletico, 8:0 over Osasuna, 5:0 over Villarreal, so I think they should be able to smash Rayo today by at least 4 goals margin.
Chelsea-Liverpool o 2.5 .... i'll also try Liverpool with low stake 0-2 FT
Chelsea captain John Terry seems to find unnecessary controversy far too regularly. This weekend the central defender inexplicably went up the pitch to take a throw-in in the left wing position, with the scoreline at 3-0 and the clock showing 90 minutes played. Terry took so long to take the throw in that he received his fifth yellow card of the season. He is therefore suspended for this Carling Cup tie and will have a clean disciplinary slate when the Premier League comes back around at the weekend.
Michael Essien remains out, while Lampard and Torres both played less than 20 minutes against Wolves at the weekend so could get a full run out here.
Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he will continue his policy of playing his squad's younger players in the Carling Cup, meaning McEachran, Bertrand and Lukaku will play.
Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge for the second time in 10 days, after their 2-1 win there in the Premier League. Glen Johnson scored a late winner that day, and Chelsea will be looking to exact revenge in a competition which provides a genuine, and possibly the biggest chance of silverware for both sides this season.
Both clubs are taking the competition reasonably seriously but will rest key players with the Premier League remaining their priority, and in particular for Chelsea, big games coming up at the weekend.
Dalglish has got his Liverpool side extremely well organised and so this game will be yet another tight one, with few goals either way. Chelsea will be the fresher of the two sides and should, just about, edge things .
Probable Line-ups: Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Alex, Cole, Obi-Mikel, Lampard, Meireles, Malouda, Torres, Mata.
Chelsea too are likely to continue with a 4-3-3 formation, with a three pronged attack featuring Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Florent Malouda. John Obi-Mikel could return to the starting eleven with Frank Lampard and Raul Meireles aiding him. The defence could have Alex partnering David Luiz at the centre in the absence of the suspended John Terry, with Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole out wide.
Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina, Johnson, Coates, Carragher, Enrique, Spearing, Lucas, Maxi, Kuyt, Carroll, Suarez. Liverpool are likely to stick with a 4-4-2 formation, with Andy Carroll coming back into the side to partner Luis Suarez upfront. Maxi, who impressed with his performance against Chelsea is likely to feature on the left wing, with Dirk Kuyt on the opposite wing. Jay Spearing and Lucas can be expected to start in the midfield, while the defence is likely to comprise of Sebastian Coates and Jamie Carragher at the centre, with Glen Johnson on the right and Jose Enrique on the left.
Liverpool have a lot going for them at the moment. Their pressing game has improved considerably and they have become a more attack oriented team. Chelsea too are an exceptional attacking side, but could face the prospect of a Cup exit given Liverpool's recent performances !
Arsenal-Manchester City o2.5 Pantilimon expect not to disappoint me and receive at least one goal ! Pantilimon ... make me happy tonight ! 0-1 FT
After seeing trips to Naples and Merseyside not go as planned, Manchester City will be hoping that they are third time lucky when they travel to the Emirates to face the in-form Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup on Tuesday evening. The Gunners, who have recovered quite remarkably from their early season struggle, will be looking to add another feather to their cap against the oil-rich Citizens and improve their chances of winning their first silverware since 2004, while Roberto Mancini's side will be keen on ensuring his side's continued participation on all four major fronts this season. The two sides haven't faced each other yet this season, but they played out a fractious goalless draw when they met at the Emirates last term.
Saturday's home draw against Fulham was probably one of the very few blips of what has been an amazing couple of months for Arsene Wenger and his side, who have resurrected their poor start to the season and now see themselves only a couple of points adrift of the Champions League spots. It is however during the cup games that the Gunners are reminded of their failings, with every passing term adding more weight to the North-London side's trophyless run which has spanned over seven years now.
Mancini will be looking to rotate his side around and field a few fresh faces, and will surely not be short-changed for talent in his roster. The likes of Adam Johnson, Kolo Toure and Edin Dzeko have seen very little gametime over the past few weeks, and if started on Tuesday will be keen on showing the Italian manager their worth in the Citizens' squad.
Arsenal (4-3-2-1) - Fabianski, Koscielny, Squillaci, Santos, Djourou, Frimpong, Arteta, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Park It will be interesting to see if Arsene Wenger plays his aces and starts in-form striker Robin van Persie, or keeps the striker fresh for the weekend's Premier League encounter following the Carling Cup game. Gervinho was rested against Fulham, and should feature on Tuesday, while trio of summer signings Yossi Benayoun, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chu Young Park could all make the eleven. Emmanuel Frimpong is expected to be given a rare start in the center of midfield, while Sebastien Squillaci, who has drastically dropped down the pecking order, could be given a lifeline to stake a claim for a regular spot.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1) - Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolo Toure, Kolarov, Zabaleta, De Jong, Razak, Milner, Johnson, Nasri, Dzeko
With a crowded fixture list to contend with, Roberto Mancini might risk changing his entire back four for this game, with the likes of Kolo Toure, young Stefan Savic, Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta waiting in the wings. Yaya Toure, who has played a lot of football this season, could be given a breather as well, while Costel Pantilimon could be given the gloves ahead of Joe Hart. Owen Hargreaves, who did score a goal in the Carling Cup earlier this season, is the only City player currently out through injury, while Carlos Tevez's career at Eastlands is effectively over and will not participate against the Gunners.
Napoli-Juventus BOTH TO SCORE 3-3 FT
Meeting between Juventus and Napoli is a overdue caused the rains two weeks ago in southern Italy.
After the last round 1-1 draw product from Atalanta, Walter Mazzarri expects his students to make a good game tonight against Bianco-nerrilor. Draw the band came from Bergamo probably because fatigue products in the Champions League match on Wednesday. Naples has a good chance to qualify on the Champions League. Mazzari received enough criticism for failing to use the last round game with Atalanta Argentine striker Lavezzi, his place being taken by Goran Pandev has not fared as well as of the international argentinan with Cavani and Hamsik. Napoli has won only one match in the last five players in Serie A, ajugand to number 8.
Juventus is the only unbeaten team this season, after the 11 matches played so far. Juventus won the last round in displacement Olimpico Lazio. The only goal of the game was scored by Pepe of Matra's care. Juventus has resulted in travel almost as good as in Naples home parties. "Old lady" has three wins out of two matches ended in a draw. Claudio Marchisio is suspended for today's game, his place being taken by Pazienza.
Only once in the last 11 Directive visiting team managed to leave with all three points. Previous meeting was held in March in Turin. Naples led 1-0 and 2-1, but finally had to settle for one point. Juve got 11 goals in four previous visits to San Paulo.
Mazzarri avverte il Napoli
"La Juve corre a mille all'ora"
Il tecnico alla vigilia del recupero: "I bianconeri hanno una settimana per preparare le partite, noi no. Inler non so se ce la fa. Dobbiamo stare attenti a non perdere palloni a centrocampo. Lavezzi? E' sereno"
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Squadr...89548642.shtml