Both sides arrive at the quarter-final stage of the League Cup having overcome Premiership opponents in both of the previous rounds. Newcastle eliminated Portsmouth and Watford, while Chelsea overpowered Blackburn and Aston Villa.
The two teams met as recently as December 13th in the Premiership, when a late Didier Drogba strike gave the Blues all three points at Stamford Bridge. This marked the third consecutive game between the two clubs that ended in a 1-0 home win. That run of solitary goal victories began in last year’s FA Cup, where a John Terry goal put his side into the last four. For odds visit WWW.EASYODDS.COM?=
In all, Newcastle and Chelsea have been paired together three times in League Cup history and it is the London side that have won through on each occasion. The most recent encounter came in November 2004 at St James Park when the visitors needed extra time to record a 2-0 win, thanks to goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Arjen Robben.
That loss marked Newcastle’s only home defeat against Chelsea in the last six meetings across all competitions, and noting that even that result needed the additional 30-minute period, backing a draw after 90 minutes on Wednesday night may prove beneficial.
In the goalscoring markets both sides can count upon a red-hot striker amongst their ranks. Obafemi Martins has five goals in his last four matches for the Toon although the only side he failed to score against in that period was Chelsea. Meanwhile, Didier Drogba has been banging them in for fun and currently leads the Premiership goalscoring table with 10 goals. However, Jose Mourinho has been attempting to rest the Ivorian target man in recent games and Drogba could well find himself wrapped up warmly on the visitors’ bench and only used in case of emergency.
Recommended Bets:
Recommended Bet (3pts) - Full-time Result: Draw
Recommended Bet (2pts) - First Goalscorer: Obafemi Martins
For more odds visit WWW.EASYODDS.COM?=
* All prices correct at time of writing.
ABOUT EASYODDS.COM
Easyodds.com is a comprehensive sport betting service that helps you find the BEST ODDS on offer from leading bookmakers, betting exchanges and spread betting firms and then helps you place your bet at the BestPrice.
FREE to register!
www.easyodds.com
Andrew Newton
Managing Editor
020 7691 0660
