THERE is one Carling Cup clash tonight and it's a difficult call.
One school of thought suggests Stevenage should beat Portsmouth at home because the visitors are so short of players and cash. But on the other hand you've got to consider that four divisions separated the sides last season and Pompey should still be good enough to win.
If Stevenage had started life as a league club with a victory I might have been tempted to back them tonight. However, they struggled to a 2-2 draw at home to Macclesfield and will apparently rotate the squad with maybe five or changes for the cup clash. Pompey, of course, could only name four young subs as they went down 2-0 at Coventry and have now lost Aaron Mokoena to the South Africa squad. But there is still quality in their ranks with players such as David Nugent and Kevin Prince Boateng able to hold their own in the Premier League.
If Stevenage were bigger than a best 2-1 with Ladbrokes and William Hill I might consider them. But I'm going to side with Pompey at 13-10 with the likes of 888sport and Paddy Power. Nugent will be well backed at 11-2 with Paddy Power and 888sport but Boateng could be the shout at 10-1 with Paddy Power. It promises to be a cagey affair so consider under 2.5 goals with Ladbrokes.
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
