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2012-12-19 - Leeds United vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : League Cup
Wednesday 19th December - Kickoff 7:45pm
Leeds United
Leeds United beat Ipswich (2-0) at home at the weekend to put them right back into the playoff mix. With their league form looking good again confidence will be high ahead of this League Cup Quarter Final clash on Wednesday.
Warnock's side have been drawn at home in all 4 of their previous league cup games. So far the Yorkshire side has beat Shrewsbury (4-0), Oxford (3-0), Everton (2-1) and Southampton (3-0).
The first 2 wins over lower league opposition was expected but defeating 2 Premiership sides was excellent. In all 4 games Leeds United have scored at least 2 goals which will be more than enough to take the tie to at least extra time.
Defensively, 3 clean sheets in 4 is also very good. However, 2 were against lower league opposition which we can't discount but Chelsea will be a tougher side to keep out than a combination of Oxford and Shrewsbury.
Chelsea
Chelsea enter this game having lost to Cortinthians 1-0 in the World Club Cup Final on Sunday morning. The game was played in Japan and the Blues have only returned home 24 hours ahead of this game so jetlag could be a real issue here.
Benetiz's squad travelled in full to the tournament in Japan meaning rotation won't help either. With Chelsea losing the Charity Shield, Champions League Campaign, most likely the league and now the World Club Cup there's not much left for them to win.
In previous rounds Chelsea has defeated Wolves (6-0) and then Manchester United 5-4 after extra time. The win over Wolves was very straight forward as both sides rotated but the hosts had too much for their Championship counter parts. The United game was tougher and was very much a shoot out between the 2 and I see that latter being more likely midweek.
Chelsea are good for at least a goal or 2 here as the Championship side could rotate themselves. Their squad has a lot of injuries so we could see some youngsters featuring for both sides.
Betting Verdict
Chelsea are odds on favourites purely based on their "name" for me and the travel commitments hasn't been properly factored into the price.
I like the bet of over 2.50 goals rather than a fixed market winner. I like this because I see both scoring and this developing into a shootout.
Chelsea are sure to concede, playing games in quick succession with lots of media commitments and travel involved will have a negative impact on the side. The hosts in front of a packed out Elland Road will be up for this one and they are very much a live "dog" play for me.
Chelsea may come out of the blocks fast but tire as the game goes on leaving it open and stretched. As a result we could see a lot of chances and lot of goals. I hope for a Blues win but a 2-1 even 3-1 result looks possible here.
Good Luck
The Pick :
Leeds United 2-1 Chelsea
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Over 2.50 Goals at 1.78 Pinanclesports
