Carling Cup Final, Manchester United v. Tottenham Hotspur, Wembley Stadium

Football betting fans are off to the betting lines again as the 2009 Carling Cup Final takes place at Wembley Stadium on March 1, 2009. The Carling Cup culminates at Wembley Stadium every spring and although it’s not as much of a headline event as the FA Cup, it still draws a lot of fans from the participating clubs. Those same fans are also hoping that their favorite team can qualify for the UEFA Cup by winning the Carling Cup.

The Carling Cup is an English football cup competition second to the FA Cup in prestige. Like the FA Cup, betting fans are treated with pick-your-winner single elimination matches to pick the best team from the lot. The Carling Cup is a tournament for all 92 league clubs as opposed to the FA Cup’s 731 teams. The top 20 teams from the FA Premiership come into contention in later rounds for the annual Carling Cup and the semi-finals are a two-legged affair. The winner of the Carling Cup will earn a spot in the UEFA Cup given that the winning team has not already qualified for Europe.

There is already a lot of action in the elimination rounds leading to the final at Wembley Stadium. Betting fans are still reeling at the news of holders, Tottenham Hotspur, barely scraping through their match against Burnley. Spurs were leading 4-1 from the first leg before Burnley answered with a 3-0 shock in the second leg to tie the aggregate score at 4-apiece. However, Spurs would not be denied as they scored two more goals in the last three minutes of extra time to end the match at 3-2 and win the tie 6-4.

In the other tie, Manchester United beat Derby County 4-2 to earn their spot in the final. Ronaldo led United's charge in a close 4-3 aggregate victory. United trailed 1-0 after the first leg but no one ever thought that the Rams could pull off an upset over the reigning European champions. Most betting fans were right as John O’Shea, Carlos Tevez, Nani, and Ronaldo each scored one goal to bury Derby. Manchester United will now meet Tottenham Hotspur in the final with a big advantage in talent and experience. This time, the football odds are largely against holders Spurs.

888 football betting will deliver the latest football and sports betting action on all noteworthy football tournaments including the Carling Cup. Now is the time to settle the score and make your bet. Support your team and have the chance to win piles of cash.