The semifinals of the Carling Cup begin this week with Burnley at defending champion Tottenham on Tuesday and Manchester United playing at Derby on Wednesday. United will be playing their second game in just 17 days but is not expected to be tested by a weak Derby squad. The second leg will be played in two weeks at Old Trafford. The winner will face either Burnley or Tottenham for the Soccer Betting Carling Cup title.

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Manchester United is expected to mix up their lineup with regulars and reserves in Wednesday’s match against Derby. United has a key game upcoming on Sunday against Chelsea in the Premier League so some starters will be rested. United had little trouble over the weekend in the FA Cup, winning 3-0 against Southampton. One player who will get some playing time against Derby though is Carlos Tevez who missed the team’s last two matches while he was in Argentina.

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The last three spots in the second round of the Soccer Betting Champions League are on the line this week with the final round of group matches. 13 teams have already qualified for the next round and three teams will join them. One team that was expected to get in must still qualify as Chelsea hosts CFR Cluj. Chelsea is battling with AS Roma and Bordeaux for one of the two spots in Group A.

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Chelsea should not have any trouble with CFR Cluj but the Blues are not playing well of late, losing at home for the first time in four years in the Premier League. “I think teams have come and put 10 players behind the ball and made it very difficult,” Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins said. “At times we haven’t worked hard enough to pry it open but give credit to teams as well, they’ve worked out a plan to play against us and it’s up to us to go against that and we’ll get it back on track.” The Blues should get a win which would mean AS Roma would only need a draw at home against Bordeaux while the road team would need the win to advance. Roma is playing well of late, having won four straight in Serie A. Jeremy Menez scored on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Chievo Verona. “He has a lot of skill and quality, and instincts of a great player,” Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said. “I knew he had talent, but I didn’t think he’d be this decisive this quickly.”

Inter Milan is at the top of Group B with the other spot up in the air. Panathinaikos needs only a draw at home against Anorthosis to advance. “Not many clubs have the opportunity to qualify for the last 16 of the Soccer Betting Champions League and we shouldn’t miss it,” coach Henk Pen Cate said, “Qualification is in our hands.”

Chelsea will have to do without one of their best players for the next three matches as Didier Drogba was suspended . The suspension happened to Drogba because of an incident in a League Cup game last Wednesday against Burnley. Drogba had scored a goal and was celebrating near the visiting fans. Some of those fans threw coins at Drogba who then picked one up and threw it back. He was given a yellow card for celebrating in front of the Burnley fans but the referee did not see him throw the coin.

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The Football Association though decided to punish Drogba for the incident. He will now miss Premier League games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Bolton. “I tried to celebrate the goal and I received some things at me,” Drogba said, “The big mistake I did was to throw it back, so if someone was hurt I just want to apologize for it. This is not something I should show in a football match and I want to apologize. It was an incident in the heat of the moment and I regret it. It was just a mistake and nothing more.”

Soccer Betting Preview: Chelsea’s Didier Drogba Suspended

The top two teams in the Soccer Betting Premier League, Chelsea and Liverpool, resume play in the Champions League this week. This is a key week for both clubs as they meet for the first time in Premier League play on Sunday but first they have Champions League work to do on Wednesday. Liverpool faces Atletico while Chelsea plays AS Roma.

Chelsea has the easier game since they are at home while Liverpool goes on the road to face Atletico Madrid and they will not have striker Fernando Torres. The winner of Wednesday’s match would vault into the lead halfway through Group D play. It is likely that both Liverpool and Atletico will advance regardless, since PSV Eindhoven and Marseille have done very little. The match means a lot more to Atletico because reports have it that a loss on Wednesday to Liverpool would cost Atletico head coach Javier Aguirre his job.

Liverpool is expected to have Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Yossi Benayoun in the lineup on Wednesday. Dirk Kuyt will take the striking role with Torres out of the lineup. “This is the big one in our group, to win would be a very strong statement. We know Atletico are a very strong, tough side but it is another challenge and one we will rise to,” Kuyt said. Atletico’s top striker Sergio Aguero may not play due to muscle problems. Atletico will also be without defender Tomas Ujfalusi due to injury.

Soccer Betting News: Champions League Action Resumes this Week

The Soccer Betting Premier League has been dominated by Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in recent seasons. Liverpool wants to join those three teams and so far in the 2008 season, they have. Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt believes his team can stay at the top. Every three games we have a big game. We had Everton and PSV last week, and our target is just to win every game and try to be there by the end of the season. But it was vital to keep pace with Chelsea before the internationals. We can leave with a good feeling. We’ve already had one international break and we came back in our first game after it and beat Manchester United, so I wouldn’t say it comes at a bad time. Anyway, we don’t need any excuses. We’ll just keep on going and see how we do against Wigan in our next game.

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One problem for Liverpool is that they will be without defender Martin Skrtel for months after he suffered damage to his posterior cruciate ligament of his right knee.

Read more on Soccer Bettin Preview: Liverpool and Chelsea Lead Premier League

Many Soccer Betting Premier League teams are dealing with injuries heading into this weekend’s action. Chelsea is at the top of the standings with their unbeaten start but they will be missing a number of key players in Sunday’s match against Aston Villa. In their Wednesday Champions League match with FCR Cluj they were without Joe Cole, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole. What is even worse is that they lost Didier Drogba to a knee injury in that match and he could be out of a while. John Terry and Alex were also hurt in that match. “I need to think for the game on Sunday,” said manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, “I have a few days to build the team again. I don’t know now what the possibilities I have for Sunday are.”

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The injuries really could cause Chelsea to fall out of first place. “If Didier is out for a while, we will have to pitch in with goals from all around the team, which we can do, though the situation is not ideal,” said midfielder Frank Lampard, “The experience is not really there, but I believe the quality is.”

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Third-tier club Brighton defeated Manchester City in the Soccer Betting Carlin Cup on Wednesday to advance to the final 16. The loss is a major embarrassment for City, especially after they chose to rest Robinho for the match. Brighton won on penalties 5-3 after the teams tied 2-2 after extra time. Brighton goalkeeper Michel Kuipers saved City’s fourth penalty taken by Michael Ball and Matthew Richards scored the final penalty goal and City was eliminated. City midfielder Gelson Fernandes had scored in the 64th minute of regulation but Glenn Murray tied it in the 89th minute for Brighton. Brighton scored early in extra time as Joe Anyinsah scored but Stephen Ireland tied it for City in the 108th minute. A record home crowd of 8,729 was ecstatic after the win. Brighton now will face Derby in the third round.

In other Carling Cup action, Chelsea had no problems with Portsmouth, winning 4-0 as Frank Lampard scored twice. Portsmouth has given up 10 goals in their last two matches.” We had a makeshift midfield and we worked very hard but we gave away scandalous goals,” said manager Harry Redknapp, “The first one wasn’t a penalty. He left his foot in there and dived. After that the other goals were poor. “We haven’t been leaking goals all season but we have had two games now. Chelsea are a fantastic team, a different class, but the goals were poor.”

Soccer Betting Preview: Brighton Shocks Manchester City in Carling Cup

Chelsea and Manchester United played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday and both teams came away from the game feeling differently. Chelsea is battered and bruised while Manchester United is encouraged. Chelsea will be without defender Ricardo Carvalho who is out for up to a month with a knee injury and Deco will miss two weeks because of a torn thigh muscle. Chelsea is already without midfielder Michael Essien who is out for months.

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Manchester United feels very encouraged after their draw at Chelsea. “That was definitely a point gained for us and was an answer to our critics,” said United’s Wayne Rooney. “As soon as we saw the fixture list we knew it was going to be a tough start to the season. We have just had three really hard games, possibly our toughest of all. Now we have got them out of the way, hopefully we can go on a run.”

Manchester United nearly ended Chelsea’s 85-match unbeaten home record but they were still pleased to come away with a draw. “Chelsea have a really good record here, so although we were in front for quite a long time and did well, a draw was a good result and probably quite fair given how the game went,” Rooney said. “I had a half-chance before they equalized which I might have done a bit better with. But it wasn’t to be and overall we did well.”

Read more on Soccer Betting Preview: Chelsea Injured, Manchester United Optimistic

Defending champion Manchester United begins Champions League play on Wednesday as group stage play gets underway. Manchester United faces Villarreal on Wednesday and it is possible that Cristiano Ronaldo will make his return to the team for that match.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has missed the start of the Soccer Betting Premier League season as he recovers from ankle surgery. Ronaldo had 42 goals in all competitions last season and his return will be a welcome sight for United. The team lost to Liverpool in league play for the first time in seven years over the weekend without Ronaldo. “You have to recover, that’s the name of the game,” manager Alex Ferguson said, “It’s the Champions League and I think we are in a good group and I think we have a good chance of qualifying.”

Soccer News: Champions League Group Stage Begins

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is expected to be out of action for a few months with a knee injury he suffered in Ghanas World Cup qualifier against Libya. The injury is a major blow to Chelsea who was expected to compete with Manchester United for the Soccer Betting Premier League title this season.

“He has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time,” Chelsea said, “A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.”

In other Chelsea news, the team may end up regretting the decision not to sign Robinho. He signed with Manchester City and is vowing to make Chelsea pay for not signing him this summer. The two teams meet for the first time on Saturday. It was thought that Robinho would join Chelsea after deciding to leave Real Madrid but he couldnt come to terms with Chelsea on a deal and Manchester City ended up making a better offer.

Soccer News: Chelsea’s Michael Essien out for Months