For the thousands of City fans who have had to endure years of football related underachievement, made worse by the dominance of their not-so-beloved fellow Manchester-dwellers United, tonight could well prove to be a very sweet moment. The prospect of qualifying for their first major final in 29 years - in United's back yard - cannot be underestimated, particularly for the nine thousand travelling fans making the short trip to Old Trafford.
It's a close call, but Betfair.com reckon it'll be a rare triumph of blue over red in this particular football fixture, after Carlos Tevez's double gave Mancini's men the undoubted advantage heading in to the most anticipated Carling Cup semi-final second leg in years. Their 2-1 lead means City only need to draw to earn a place in the final with Villa at Wembley on February 24th, meaning that their Italian manager could go all "Catenaccio" in an effort to preserve his team's lead. City began last week's tie playing deep, forming most of their attacks on the counter, and they'll be looking to do the same again tonight. The draw is available at 3.95, with United favourites at 1.7 and City at 5.9.
A quick glance at Betfair and the 'To Qualify' market demonstrates just how much City have still to do, as despite their narrow lead they remain outsiders to go through at 2.04, with United just 1.93. The home side are sure to field another strong side, with Rio Ferdinand back in defence (after appealing his FA ban) alongside Jonny Evans adding some badly-needed defensive stability, while City's back line should be stronger with the return of Toure.
But the strengths of these two sides undoubtedly lie in attack, which explains the football betting odds of 1.69 for both teams to score. So there's certainly money to be made in the goalscorers and scorecast market!
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