Birmingham on course for second ever Carling Cup victory
Published:Birmingham have been cut to 4/1 to win the Carling Cup and the omens are good that they can go all the way in the tournament.
Alex McLeish’s team are now in the last four of the tournament after squeezing past Midlands adversaries Aston Villa in the quarter finals.
And the interesting point to take out of this is that the last time Birmingham beat Aston Villa in the Carling Cup was in 1963, which was ironically the last and only time they have won the competition.
Meanwhile, the result will also provide some comfort for Birmingham’s fans after some revenge was gained on Villa boss Gerard Houllier.
Houllier was the manager of the Liverpool team which beat Birmingham on penalties in the Carling Cup final in 2001, which is also the only other time they have reached the final of the competition.
Another reason for McLeish to be cheerful is that Birmingham have avoided Carling Cup favourites Arsenal in the last four, but have been drawn to face the other Premier League team still in the competition, West Ham.
Birmingham will travel to Upton Park for the first of the two legs, where they have lost half of their Premier League encounters since the start of the Premier League.
Furthermore, it has been West Ham who have progressed on the last two occasions that they have been drawn with Birmingham in the Carling Cup.
However, Birmingham will feel that if they can at worst draw away at West Ham, then there is every chance they will qualify for the final in the second leg, given the strength of their home form.
Birmingham have only lost one home game since being beaten by Bolton at St Andrew’s in the Premier League last September.
A £10 bet on Birmingham winning the Carling Cup would return £40. New Ladbrokes customers can sign up here for a free £10 bet.
