Neighbours meet in Carling Cup for the big date in Wembley.

After the weather disturbed the whole of English football in the past with the league cup also falling as one of the victim, the premier tournament is back with the much important semi final clash between local rivals Manchester United and Manchester City at the City Of Manchester Stadium which was covered under heavy snow on the original scheduled date for the match. While the other two semi finalists Aston Villaand Blackburn Rovers will be playing its second leg at at Villa park after their first leg match was won by the visitors by a narrow margin of 1-0. With Aston Villa having the upper hand and with a home game they may be certain on road to Wembley and must be waiting for one of the Manchester team.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be banking on the return of Gary Neville and Edwin Van der Sar at the back for the defence that they needed. Further up front much would be expected from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov to score in this crucial derby. Also the player to look for will be the new comer from Senegal Mame Biram Diouf who scored in his debut for the red devils. Ryan Giggs seems to be the concern of the moment after his missed the Saturday’s home game against Burnley.
According to Sir Alex, Manchester City has evolved as a competitive side by saying “You have to recognise they are a competitor now,” . City having been missing on a major title since 1976 and this seems to be the best opportuinity to finish the title drought. City has been doing considerable well under their new manager Roberto Mancini with their joint 4th position currently in the premier league.

The match will be starting at 1945 Hours GMT today (i.e. 0115 Hours IST on Wednesday)
Don’t confuse on the time fact, it can take many things away.

Gibson strikes twice, takes United to semi finals.

In the exciting League Cup Tuesday night football match at Old Trafford the hosts Manchester United sentTottenham Hotspurs packing with a 2-0 win over the Londoners. In the other quarter final of the night Aston Villacrushed Portsmouth 4-2 leaving very little to achieve for the Pompeys for the rest of the season in the premiership.

In the match at Old Trafford, Manchester United left very little to exploit for Tottenham giving them very little space in their half. Red Devils goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was also in his best, saving the ball neatly. And as soon as the fans settled down after singing their songs at the start of the match, the first goal was scored in the 16th minute byDarron Gibson for Manchester United giving a the all important 1-0 lead for the host making the fans scream again with the victory songs. United were looking bright in attack and solid in defence with Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic’s burgeoning partnership looking as strong as ever. It was also Dimitar Berbatov’s first appearance for United in a month. Tottenham come very close to scoring in the 20th minute through Robbie Keane but Vidic’s tackle cleared the ball. And just when everything was settling down Dimitar Barbatov, being picked out by Park on the left, flashed to find Gibson who played a one-two with Welbeck on the edge of the box before curling the ball into the top corner for a glorious second. Half time score 2-0.
Second half produced some spectacular display, Tottenham had their chances flowing when Bale squeezed past Neville on the left wing, before finding the unmarked Bentley in the area but his snapshot was brilliantly punched clear by the Polish keeper. The pair combined again soon after with Bentley heading Bale’s looping left-wing cross just wide of the United stopper’s near post. But with Spurs unable to find the net, the score remained as of the first half making Manchester United reach the semis…

Carling Cup Quarter Finals this midweek.

After a long break the carling cup is back and back with a bang. As the stage gets tougher for the teams, there is plenty of action with Manchester United hosting Tottenham Hotspurs for the crucial quarter-semi encounter at Old Trafford. In the other match to be played today bottom of the table team in the premiership Portsmouth will be playing Aston Villa. As the current situations is going this is the only chance for Portsmouth to show where they used to belong.

In the matches to be played on Wednesday United’s neighbours Manchester City will be up against Arsenal who will be desperate to win after Sunday’s loss to Chelsea in the premier league. Other match features premier league leaders Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers. It is interesting to see that all the quarter finalists belongs to the premiership.
Much will be expected from Manchester United’s emerging striker Danny Welback who has continuously made the mark in this year’s League Cup and Sir Alex’s assurance on not holding him back in the transfer market surely has given the young lad lots of confidence.
From the locker room the pre match new is that Redknapp will be missing three key players on Tuesday, but they are all long-term injuries with no fresh worries from the weekend. Ledley King is out with a hamstring problem, Luka Modric continues to nurse a fibula injury sustained in August, and Carlo Cudicini will be out for the foreseeable future after fracturing both wrists in a motorcycle accident. For the Reds, John O’Shea and Jonny Evans are again both doubts, while Rio Ferdinand continues to suffer from a back injury. It is still too early for Owen Hargreaves, who is making good progress in his recovery from a knee operation. Sir Alex is likely to opt for youth, as has been his wont in the Carling Cup.

Man United in Carling Cup last 8 stage.

Holders Manchester United made it through to the quarter finals with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Barnsley. Danny Welbeck and Michael Owen scored the goals. While their city rivals also march through the next round with a 5-1 victory over Scunthorpe with Roque Santa Cruz, Joleon Lescott, Carlos Tevez and Michael Johnson scoring for them.

In the Manchester United match Vs Barnsley, the red devils made a perfect start with a sixth minute header by when Danny Welbeck from Anderson’s right-wing corner. Danny Welback has now scored two goals in two games. And the reds victory was sealed with a near to perfection finish by Michael Owen early in the second half. It was also a good day at the office for Ben Foster who managed to hold on the clean sheet for his club with a great save later in the game. One thing that pinched United was the red card given to skipper Gary Neville who slid in to challenge Adam Hammill, , and although he won the ball, he caught the opponent above the ankle and the referree for the night Chris Foy wasted no time in giving a straight red to him. So a 2-0 score line looks fine for the red devils as they head to the Quarter finals stage.

In the other matches played in the midweek,

Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. Fran Merida’s early goal was cancelled out by Emiliano Insua’s stunning strike. Nicklas Bendtner won the tie in the second half whileChelsea continued their high scoring form when they thrashed Bolton Wanderers with a 4-0 win, Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda, Deco and Didier Drogba scoring for the blues.

Other results are:

Blackburn 5 – 2 Peterborough

Tottenham 2 – 0 Everton

Sunderland 0 – 0 Aston Villa (Aston Villa win 3-1 on penalties)

Portsmouth 4 – 0 Stoke

Carling Cup this midweek

Going of track from the premier league, there is plenty of action this midweek all over UK as the league cup (or better known as the carling cup) matches will be in action. A tournament were the emerging players give their best so that they are counted when it comes to the main side. There is plenty of drama out there at the pitch when the players move. It is seen over the years that 3 players from the senior team are included in the carling cup team so as to add flavour and spectators to the event, not to forget the motivation to the young players.

From the teams point of view, the news from the Manchester City locker room is that forward Robinho could be set to make his return from injury in this week’s Carling Cup with Scunthorpe. The Brazilian has been out with an ankle injury since August. Manchester City’s owner and manager will be watching him closely.

Manchester United, who were that champions last time will be up against Barnsley and there is a little chance that Korean mid fielder Park Ji Sung will be available for the fixture. More will we expected from Danny Welbeck who scored in the last game in the third round against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The biggest attraction to this week’s carling cup will be Arsenal Vs Liverpool. Liverpool after defeating Manchester United will be high on confidence hoping to continue their winning performance while Arsenal on the other hand will be pushing hard for a win after there premier league draw against West Ham United.

Other matchs that will be played over the two days are:

Blackburn Rovers vs Peterborough United

Sunderland vs Aston Villa

Portsmouth vs Stoke City

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton

Chelsea vs Bolton Wanderers

A win looks certain for the Red Devils but they should look at a big win.

3-0 or a minimum of 2-0 looks gettable…