The Blues led the League for most of this season but have recently allowed Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to move ahead of them in the quest for the title.

With Chelsea now out of the Champions League courtesy of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side though, many feel that they can concentrate on the vitally important issue of the league now.

Ancelotti stated: “”It will be an important game.

“I think that this game won’t decide the winner, but the team that wins the game will have a good chance to win the title.

“I am working to bring the Premier League here to Stamford Bridge.

“We are hungry to win because Chelsea has been very close for three years and now is the time to win.

“I am not satisfied because we are in second place in the table. We were in first place for eight months and now we are in second. We have a chance in the next game to move back into first place.”

Chelsea will be buoyed by the news that Didier Drogba, their top scorer, will be fit for the Man United match, whilst United’s own talisman Wayne Rooney will miss the game after injuring his ankle ligaments in the midweek game with Bayern Munich.

This news will be a boost for Ancelotti who believes that his Chelsea team should win at least one tournament due to their hard work this season.

He added: “”I think we deserve to win something. We had a bad performance in the Champions League, this was not good.

“But in the Premier League we have done a good job until now. Now we have to try to win.

“The pressure is normal, it is a good thing. Pressure is life. When you have adrenaline in your body you have to be happy because adrenaline is a good thing.”

United are favourites for the match with 888sport at 8/5, Chelsea are 9/5 to win and a draw is 11/5.

Kauto Star is an 8 year old gelding from France. He is owned by Clive Smith who bought him for the not insubstantial sum of nearly half a mission Euros six years ago. Kauto Star is trained by Paul Nicholls, arguably one of the best trainers in the land. It is said that it was on Paul Nicholls recommendation that Clive Smith agreed to pay such a princely price for the horse.

There are few if any flies on Nichols or, as he demonstrated, on Kauto Star. After subjecting the horse to some intense schooling he was entered for the Novices Chase. He stormed ahead of the field and won by a good nine lengths.

Kauto Star nearly won his second race. He moved out to a twelve length lead but fell at the penultimate fence dislodging his rider Ruby Walsh. Such were the skills of both horse and rider that Walsh was able to scramble back onto the horse, continue the race and come within a hairs breadth of winning it.

His next major success was winning the Tingle Creek at Sandown, a Grade One race though shortly afterwards fell during the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Festival in 2006.

He continues to clock up regular wines over the next few years, though there were also a number of misses too. In 2007 he everything for which he was entered including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a race in which he had been the favourite.

In 2008 he raced in the Cheltenham Gold Cup against his stable mate Denman, another horse trained by Paul Nichols and another wonder horse which had also won every race in which it was entered. On that occasion Denman proved to be the better horse and won the race comfortably.

In 2009 the situation was reversed and Kauto Star put on an excellent performance to beat Denman by 12 lengths in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Further wins were achieved in the Betfair Chase, the third time he had won the race and the King George V1 Chase for the fourth time.

He is the current favourite for this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Firstly, the most generous bet of the night will be Leeds at home to Watford. You can get odds of 6/5 for United to win, which would seriously boost an accumulator bet. Leeds have a 100% record so far in League One and are looking very strong, buoyed by goals from Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio. They should see off their Championship opposition with relative ease.

The main skill you can acquire for cup betting is spotting an upset. You will not get good odds on favourites in these matches, they are usually under evens. This means that if you find a potential upset, you can get very good odds of 4’s or 5’s. Newcastle United play host to Huddersfield Town, a club that is managed by Geordie legend Lee Clark. The young manager will want to prove himself back in his home town and may just inspire his League One side to victory. You can get them at 6/1, with the draw at 4/1.

Wigan Athletic were thrashed 5-0 at home to Man Utd at the weekend, and they have the difficult trip to fellow Lancastrians Blackpool on Wednesday. Blackpool managed to get a 2-2 draw at Watford on Saturday, a good result by all accounts, and they will carry this confidence into this week’s fixture. You can get Blackpool at 9/4 or the draw at 23/10 - both serious possibilities here.

Remember that these Carling Cup fixtures are decided on the night - there will be no replays, only extra-time then a penalty shoot out to determine the winners. Because of this, you have to be aware of teams that may want to hold out for a draw and use their superior fitness to hit their opponents in extra-time. This is where Premiership teams can really prove their ability, so don’t be surprised to see Southampton vs Birmingham and Tranmere vs Bolton go past the normal 90 minutes.

Obviously looking for potential upsets is all good and well, but sometimes you may be better going for more reliable bets, albeit at lower odds. These bets can be beneficial when placed in accumulators. QPR, Wolves, West Ham and Cardiff are all at home to League One or Two opposition, and I will be very surprised to see any of these get knocked out at this stage of the competition.

So there you have it. Those are my tips for this week’s Carling Cup fixtures - by no means are they guaranteed payouts, but going by my past record this season, you might just strike lucky with the right combination!

Let’s start with the Premier League markets. Three of the Big 4 teams are playing at home against lesser opposition, so them dropping points seems highly unlikely. The best thing here is to look at the Correct Score markets. Chelsea and Man Utd have always prided themselves on strong defensive ability, so scores of around 3-0 or 4-0 when they play Hull and Birmingham respectively are possible. You can get 6/1 and 8/1 for Chelsea to put 3 or 4 past The Tigers without reply, and 6/1 and 9/1 for Man Utd to do one of the same to Birmingham. One game that has caught my attention is Portsmouth vs Fulham. Pompey have been tipped to struggle this season, whereas Fulham’s fortunes seem to be on the upturn. You can get The Cottagers at 17/10 to win, however take into consideration their poor away record last season, where they only won 3 out of 20 games. I’m liking Bolton to beat Sunderland at home, so odds of 13/10 are quite generous here. The bold punter might fancy a Burnley Or Draw bet, as they travel to Stoke. You can get 4/5 on this outcome.

Into The Championship, and there are a couple of games here that have tempted me. Swansea will certainly fancy their chances at home to Middlesbrough, with bookies offering them at 8/5, a very good price considering last weekend’s results. QPR will be riding the crest of a wave after seeing off League One Exeter 5-0 in the Carling Cup midweek, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them bag a few goals away at Plymouth Argyle, who fell at the hands of Gillingham. There aren’t many other decent 1X2 odds in The Championship this week, so you may have to look at the extended market for good bets.

Moving onto League One now and one game has caught my eye - Exeter vs Norwich. Both teams have suffered heavy defeats lately, however Norwich made up for their 7-1 crushing by Colchester last week by beating Yeovil 4-0 in the cup at Huish Park. Exeter, on the other hand, put up a brave fight against Leeds last weekend, losing by a single goal; however their performance in the Carling Cup left a lot to be desired as they were beaten 5-0 by QPR. In my opinion - you should avoid this game like the plague! If you want a safe bet in this division, go for Millwall at home to Carlisle, though you will get odds at less than evens. Leeds are away to Wycombe but might struggle to pick up 3 points - a cheeky draw here is possible.

Finally, a quick look at League Two and a couple of matches are standing out for me. Bradford have suffered two bad defeats in the past week (5-0 to Notts County then 3-0 to Nottm Forest) so will be looking to make amends tomorrow as they face Port Vale on home soil. You can get them to win at just less than evens, however Port Vale knocked Sheff Utd out of the cup on Tuesday and may carry this momentum into Saturday’s game. A draw is not a bad bet here, at 5/2. Another fancied bet is Morecambe to get a result at Burton Albion. The Shrimps picked up a point last weekend, whereas Albion were beaten 3-1 away at Shrewsbury.

Those are my betting tips for the weekend, and although I don’t expect every single one to come off, you may be wise to have a good read through and pick those you fancy the best! Good luck!

However, Exeter were crushed 5-0 at home to QPR, which I didn’t see coming, and the ‘tempting’ double-chance bet of Exeter Or Draw now is a distant memory!

Finally, Leeds managed to beat Darlington at the Northern Echo Arena but only by a goal to nil, scored by Enoch Showunmi - not Jermaine Beckford, as I originally predicted. Beckford did not even manage to get into the starting line-up, citing an injury as the excuse for his omission.

There are three more Carling Cup first round matches tonight, all involving Championship sides against lower opposition, however I would be surprised to see any cupsets. For this reason, you will get poor odds on 1X2 betting, so a look at the more in-depth markets might be a good idea.

13/8 on Leicester to ‘Win To Nil’ is quite a tempting bet here. Macclesfield don’t really have a prolific striker in their ranks and could struggle to put one past The Foxes tonight. 13/10 on the match being level at half-time is also a decent bet, as Leicester may be wary of their underdog opponents and may take a while to find their feet in the match. If you are going to go for the above two bets, there are a number of other markets you can put your money on which will cover similar outcomes.

Nottm Forest play host to Yorkshire side Bradford City, who suffered a 5-0 thrashing in the same city on Saturday, at the hands of Forest’s rivals Notts County. A Forest win tonight is more than likely, and odds of 1/2 on this outcome are actually quite generous considering the circumstances. However, you’d have to wager a fairly big stake in order to make a decent return, so it is not worth the risk. Going for the goals market on this fixture will reap better rewards, especially if you think Forest could put a few past City without reply. You can get 9/1 and 22/1 on 3-0 and 4-0 respectively, though with Rob Earnshaw on international duty with Wales, their strikepower may be damaged.

The other fixture tonight sees Coventry City at home to Hartlepool United, hardly a gambler’s paradise. This is the only game that might see a result upset, though I still think Coventry have enough to see off their North-East opponents. If you are going to bet on this game, you would be wise to take the 8/11 odds on Coventry to win, or 7/5 on Clinton Morrison scoring at any time during the match.

I hope my betting tips for tonight suit you well, though I will re-iterate the point - anything can happen in the cup!

Just a couple of days after the opening weekend of fixtures in the Football League, the first round of the Carling Cup kicks-off tonight with Darlington at home to Leeds; however the majority of games fall tomorrow as teams from League One, League Two and The Championship battle it out for a place in the 2nd round and a potential draw against a Premiership side. The Carling Cup offers great opportunities for people who like to bet on football, with many bookmakers offering extended markets on the fixtures. One thing that people must be aware of is that bets for these matches are to 90 minutes only - they do not cover extra-time or penalties.

Looking at tonight’s match, a lot of punters might be tempted by 8/11 on a Leeds win, however they struggled to beat 10-man Exeter at the weekend, and their recent record in cup competitions has not been great. Jermaine Beckford to score anytime at 11/10 looks more inviting.

There are a few potential upsets (or cupsets!) in tomorrow’s fixtures. Exeter will fancy their chances at home to QPR after an impressive determined display against Leeds on Saturday. You can get The Grecians at 13/5 or a draw at 12/5. A double-chance bet at 8/11 covering an Exeter win or a draw is very tempting, as this game could go to the wire.

You can get 2/1 on a Brentford home win against Bristol City, which is quite a good price considering the Bees’ recent promotion to League One and 3-1 away win on Saturday. Bristol City threw away a 2-0 lead at Preston, which will have rocked their confidence, so a home win in this fixture is quite possible.

Finally, I fancy Gillingham at home to Plymouth. After their 5-0 demolition of Swindon at the weekend, The Gills will be riding the crest of a wave, and this momentum could lead them to victory over their Championship opponents.

These are just a few of the many tempting bets that are out there on the Carling Cup market; all you have to do is dig deep at the bookies and you may unearth a few gems!

There are some great opportunities for live in-play betting on the internet, with some bookmakers even offering a live feed of the event for you to keep track of your bets.

You can still get odds for Australia to win, however they are getting longer and longer as the Aussies notch more runs. They currently stand at 1/11 and this may seem generous considering they are only 35 runs away from England’s total, however there are four innings in a cricket match, and every team has to complete its series of overs. So if Australia cannot bowl England ‘out’ in the next innings, the match will be a draw. However, a draw stands at 14/1 with an England win slightly more likely to happen at 12/1.

Taking part in in-play betting for The Ashes can be quite risky and you have to act fast if you want to take a certain bet, because the situation in cricket can change in an instant.

The tenures of managers are becoming shorter and shorter as the fans become more demanding and hold greater power over their clubs’ futures. The manager thought to be out of the door first is Birmingham City gaffer Alex McLeish; you can get odds of 11/4 on this. He is closely followed by Paul Hart, currently manager of Portsmouth. After the departure of Harry Redknapp last season, Pompey struggled to live up to their potential and a slow start might signal an early departure for Hart.

Another market being offered at the moment is the fate of Mark Hughes as Man City manager. Wild spending this summer has sent expectations through the roof for the Sky Blues, who have always had the problem of living in the shadow of their red counterparts. If Hughes cannot deliver the goods in the opening couple of months, his time might be up, with Roberto Mancini, Martin O’Neill and David Moyes all tipped to replace him.

The power held by the Big 4 clubs has been unpenetrable in the past few seasons, with Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton all going close but no cigar. You can get odds of 6/4 that Arsenal will drop out this season, the shortest of any of the teams. However, I wonder how much value any of these bets really are because at the end of the day, the Big 4 are the Big 4 for a reason - they’re the best in the country.

‘PENALTY!’ is the cry coming from the away end at Old Trafford, but the referee waves away the call once again. Too many times during the season is this a popular commentary soundbite as officials come under more and more pressure by the influential Red Devils at home. However, if one ref plucks up the courage to give the away side a penalty at this ground, you can reap the rewards with a bet at 4/7. Reckon it’s unlikely? Go the other way and say it won’t happen at 5/4.

Finally, who will bag the most Premier League goals this season? Liverpool and Man Utd have been made joint-favourites each at 9/4, with Chelsea closely following them at 7/2. One big win can tip the scales in a team’s favour, and I would argue that Chelsea are less likely to do this than their title-challenge rivals. A good bet could be Man City at 6/1 as the Sky Blues boast a strike-force that would match any in the division.

Another reason to gamble online is that it is free of charge. Since it is free, even more people are gambling - but you should check if gambling is legal in your area. The next reason is because there are more options to gamble, rather than just having one event to bet on. For example, you might want to bet on sports, but you might also be interested in other activities, such as poker and similar events. Online gambling sites offer more variety, so you can make better choices.

When you gamble using online sites, it usually is cheaper compared to casinos. Since they don’t need to pay rental for land, you get to save more on betting. While gambling is not available 24 hours in most casinos, you can gamble for as long as you like and at anytime of the day or night when you gamble online. With this in mind, you get more freedom and flexibility. With so many reasons to gamble online, you should give it a try.

First of all, you might wonder how you got yourself in such a problem. You might not realise it, but you have probably been gambling non-stop until you were broke. That’s not it, however, as you borrowed money from everyone you could find, and used your credit cards, so you ended up with a large debt. All this happened without you knowing it, because you were so obsessed with gambling.

Every year, thousands of people are getting into debt due to gambling. Now, this is a really bad scenario, because gambling is no longer ‘entertainment’. When things get this bad, gambling is the pit of death. And as such, you need to look for a solution. Get yourself a counsellor to begin with. This is essential because a good counsellor will be able to help you see what you have done to yourself and open up opportunities to help you solve your problems. Get help before it is too late. You are the only one who can save yourself.