Ngog could be the matchwinner for Liverpool at Arsenal

It was evident last night when Manchester United made 11 changes and still beat Barnsley 2-0 that the major clubs have such dominant squads that the only real danger that they face is if they either don't take this competition seriously, play extremely poorly or come across another major club. Only the teamsheets will determine whether either club takes the game seriously - but the last round's teamsheets suggest that Liverpool is prepared to play a more senior side in this competition than Arsenal.

Last month Arsenal played and beat West Brom 2-0 in this competition with this largely untried line-up:

Szczesny, Senderos, Silvestre, Traore (Barazite, 69), Gilbert, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Coquelin (Vela, 58), Sunu (Randall, 58 ), Watt
Subs not used: Frimpong, Bartley, Eastmond, Shea.

Before switching all eleven starters for the 1-0 win at Fulham 4 days later.

Mannone, Vermaelen, Clichy, Sagna, Gallas, Arshavin (Rosicky, 69), Fabregas, Song, Diaby, van Persie (Eboue, 84), Bendtner
Subs not used Silvestre, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Szczesny.

Liverpool prevailed 1-0 at Leeds United playing half a team of regulars:

Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Dossena, Degen (Johnson, 71), Carragher, Aurelio, Mascherano, Spearing, Riera, Babel (Skrtel, 89), Ngog (Gerrard, 78)
Subs not used Torres,Voronin,Plessis,Reina,

But still changed 9 starting players to batter Hull 6-1 the following weekend:

Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Insua, Johnson, Benayoun (Voronin, 77), Gerrard (Mascherano, 74), Lucas, Riera, Torres (Babel, 68), Kuyt
Subs not used: Kyrgiakos, Aurelio, Ngog, Cavalieri.

On that basis Liverpool might be taking the League Cup a little more seriously than Arsenal and will be looking to build momentum on the back of dominating Manchester United on Sunday. A narrow away win seems probable. Ngog is starting to look the part and he scored against Manchester United and the decisive goal against Leeds last round; he seems certain to be the main Liverpool striker tonight and as such could well add to his season's tally of three goals. The last rounds results for these two saw three goals in two games, and the games between the top teams tend to be edgy - so I would guess that this could be a low scoring game.

Tips:
8/1 Liverpool win 1-0
5/2 Ngog scores (anytime)
13/5 Less than 2 goals in game

(All odds courtesy of Bet365, which is offering £200 in free best for accounts opened today).