Looks like rain, dear: Carabao Cup 2018-19

[3 Colours Red]

You know it's bad when the BBC are typing the score out in letters.

[Jah Womble]

City now have nine - which I think might be a record for the competition*.

It might even be a record for a domestic UK semi-final.

(*Except it isn't, because Liverpool once put ten past Fulham, I think...)

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Burton have given themselves a bit of a mountain to climb in the second leg, there.

[EIM]

Fuck Guardiola, the baldy bully bastard. What's be gained from that? There's still a second leg, ffs. A team with a record signing of about 500 grand, against the blood money of an oil rich Arab state. And worst of all, we drew 0-0 with them a few year back.

Anyway, early goal in the second leg, and City may wobble.

[EIM]

Mind, earlier this afternoon two Burton fans in the pub were talking about the time they tried to bribe a homeless girl in Yeovil into a threesome with toothpaste and shower gel. They were having a good old laugh at her expense, so I hope they're as miserable as fuck and really cold.

[Jah Womble]

You never know.

While of course I concur with the 'corrupt money' angle, it's always going to be a lose-lose for teams at the top end: take it easy and you're disrespecting the fans and the tournament; go all-out (as City have already done twice this week) and you're bastards/flat-track bullies/rabbit-killers, etc.

(In such fashion, Rodney Marsh [of all people] publicly castigated my lot for bringing on Kane at 0-6 at Tranmere on Friday. The tool.)

[Snake Plissken]

I'd say something about losing 9-0 is embarrassing but then Burton knocked my lot out in the third round.

[jwdd27]

I had a cheeky quid on 10-0 (90/1) which caused a rising amount of excitement. I was at least able to rinse Victor Chandler for £20 in cash outs in the few windows where it wasn't suspended. It seems the bookies are a couple of seconds ahead of the "live" TV and radio.

[Satchmo Distel]

Biggest win margin over two legs in the League Cup is 11 goals so I assume Man City will beat that even though they were a goal short of the record for a first leg (10-0, Liverpool v Fulham)

[Gangster Octopus]

If I remember correctly, the Fulham programme for the second leg included words to the effect that if the aggregate scores were level at ninety minutes, then extra time would be played...

[tee rex]

Any Burton player who wants his 15 minutes of viral fame should a) score (the hard part) and b) do that grabbing the ball out of the net and running back to halfway thing that shows you BELIEVE. Can anyone claim to have witnessed that happen in a game with an improbably huge deficit?

[Jah Womble]

Biggest win margin over two legs in the League Cup is 11 goals so I assume Man City will beat that even though they were a goal short of the record for a first leg (10-0, Liverpool v Fulham)

...and West Ham, 10-0 vs Bury, 25/10/83 (12-1 aggregate).

[elguapo4]

Any Burton player who wants his 15 minutes of viral fame should a) score (the hard part) and b) do that grabbing the ball out of the net and running back to halfway thing that shows you BELIEVE. Can anyone claim to have witnessed that happen in a game with an improbably huge deficit?

I was in goal for a 14.0 defeat, one of my team mates, who had just come on as sub, deflected the ball past me for the 13th, he then ran into the back of the net and grabbed the ball shouting "come on lads, let's get at least one " all we could do was laugh.

[Kevin S]

I think he's playing mind games here.

https://www.burtonalbionfc.co.uk/new...y/2301-clough/

NIGEL Clough wants all the fans and everyone at the club to enjoy the visit of Manchester City tonight.

The Brewers will play the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in front of a sold-out crowd but knowing the tie is already over after the 9-0 first leg defeat.

The Albion manager said: “The likelihood of us ever making the second leg competitive were very slim in the first place and everybody accepted that. But we are sold out and we are just going to enjoy it. Our supporters will get to see some of the best players not just in the country but in the world. They might never get to see a game like this here again.”

Clough hopes that being at home will take away some of the fear factor for his players this time.

He said: “We want to take some pride out of the game and the result if we can. If anyone can get a goal against them these are the kind of milestones that they will always remember.”

He also believes that Manchester City will understand the scale of the Brewers achievement in getting this far in the competition once they see the club for themselves.

He said: “When their players and staff get here and see the size of the club I hope they will stop and ask how we managed to get to the last four of a major cup competition. I want them to take that away more than anything else and then they will understand the scale of the achievement.”

[Patrick Thistle]

I've been to Burton. I'm impressed they've made it to the league.

[Gerontophile]

I've been to Burton. Nice brewery.

What channel is this on this evening/morning?

[ursus arctos]

ESPN+ streaming only in the US. Began ten minutes ago.

[Gerontophile]

Cheers Urs.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Good job away goals don't count in this. Burton just need 10 now for extra time.

[Kevin S]

A decent 45 there, improving in the third quarter of the tie and the rope-a-dope in the final 45 minutes is on.

[Nocturnal Submission]

So after Man. City managed to squeeze past Burton, it's Chelsea V Spurs at the Bridge tonight. The latter have a number of their big names missing but if you want to play a side that will utterly fail to press home that advantage, Chelsea is the one.

If the result is in question, I think that I can safely predict that the atmosphere both in and around the stadium will be absolutely toxic. My wife was interested in going but I told her that I was very uncomfortable with the idea. Then again I did take her to Club Bruges V Chelsea in 1995, which was the nearest thing to football in a war zone that I've experienced. There were hundreds of deportations and detentions, C18 were all over the place, we were threatened with arrest if we even went to the city and at one point we had to get out of the way of three Belgian armoured police vehicles racing down the road towards us. Chelsea/Spurs though - nope.

[torres]

That Fulham away leg has to be the most pointless away game I've ever attended. Paul Parker did score a very silky OG though.

[Kevin S]

Chelsea square up the tie. Remember the new rules apply to the semi final too - straight to penalties if scores are level. No away goals, no extra time.

[Kevin S]

And now lead.

[Kevin S]

Not long to go, 2-2 on aggregate.