Sunderland vs. Aston Villa: Carling Cup Preview

The Carling Cup has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent seasons and this year’s renewal looks one of the most competitive witnessed in the modern era.

12 Premier League clubs can be found in round four and with such an importance placed on silverware these days, no matter which kind, all are desperate to win it. The likes of Manchester United and Chelsea might well have bigger fish to fry but for Sunderland and Aston Villa this represents a very realistic chance of a trophy and the pair meet on Tuesday.

Just a point separates the two in the top flight at present and I have been impressed with both so far this season. Villa could move into the top four by winning their game in hand and there was no disgrace in adding to their points tally with a hard fought draw in the west midlands derby against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Gabriel Agbonlahor was on target for Villa once again at Molineux but while he may have his eyes on a place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad next summer there are more immediate short-term goals to be met for his club. Agbonlaor could be partnered by fellow England striker Emile Heskey on Tuesday if John Carew is rested and that may be just one of a handful of changes manager Martin O’Neill chooses to make.

Fabian Delph, the highly promising midfielder, is also tipped to start at the Stadium of Light and he’ll be looking to make an impact once again. O’Neill may well shuffle the pack further but he has plenty of quality to call upon from a strong looking squad and Villa have certainly become hard to beat this season.

Just one defeat since their opening day mauling at the hands of Wigan comes courtesy of a solid defensive foundation and no side has conceded less on their travels in the league. Sunderland must do without top scorer Darren Bent, injured in Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Birmingham, and I think the away side will be good enough to at least force extra time.

At no bigger than 2.50 with the fixed odds firms, Sunderland are definitely underpriced and one has to worry about their hunger for such an occasion. I was really impressed with their efforts against Manchester United and Liverpool, when picking up four points, but losses at Stoke, Burnley and on the weekend at St. Andrews point to a soft underbelly and Steve Bruce has his work cut out to rally his troops.

With Phil Bardsley and John Pantsil also set to miss out the home side look up against it versus such a well-organised unit and the five time winners are tipped to take a step closer to Wembley. Top flight games at the Stadium of Light have produced an average of four goals so far this season but such end-to-end action may well be in short supply and I wouldn’t be surprised if one was enough to settle it.

2pts Lay Sunderland (vs. Aston Villa) @ 2.60 (Betfair)