Carling Cup Final Review

Rarely can a cup final have crept so low under the radar as Sunday’s League Cup showdown between holders Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United with both clubs pre-occupied for vastly different reasons.

While Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has been juggling his squad for relegation scraps and UEFA Cup ties, his opposite number Alex Ferguson has watched his side surge to the top the Premier League while plotting a Champions League showdown with Inter Milan and his old adversary Jose Mourinho.

League leaders United appear unstoppable at present and are still on course for a possible five trophies this season having already taken FIFA’s Club World Cup in Tokyo although of the four still on offer, the League Cup is likely to be bottom of Ferguson’s priorities.

The Scot may even elect to leave the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench for the Wembley showpiece, although such are his attacking and midfield options and the Scot’s insatiable appetite for trophies that United will still start firm favourites to win the competition for the third time.

“Alex will want to win the game make no mistake,” Redknapp said on Wednesday with half an eye on a UEFA Cup tie with Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday, a game which is proving a big distraction.

“Whoever he picks he’ll pick a strong team because he only knows one thing and that is he wants to win. That’s why he is the best in the business.

“So it’ll be a very, very hard game. It should be a terrific game, we’ve got good players and I think it will be a great spectacle.”

Complicating the issue for Redknapp, whose side have already been beaten by United in the FA Cup this season, is the fact that all five of the players he signed in the transfer window to revive the club’s season are not available.

Unlucky striker Jermain Defoe, who missed Tottenham’s 2-1 win in the final against Chelsea last year because he had joined Portsmouth and the FA Cup final because he was cup-tied, having played in the competition for Spurs, is out with a broken foot sustained soon after returning to White Hart Lane.

Striker and new club captain Robbie Keane, who played in last year’s final before his ill-fated transfer to Liverpool, is cup tied, as are goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, midfielder Wilson Palacios and Pascal Chimbonda, another player who returned to Spurs after joining Sunderland.

No wonder Redknapp has worn a hang dog expression all week, although the thought of leading the side out at Wembley restored his sense of humour. “I’ve got my suit ready to go,” he said. “They’ve all got their suits all the lads. I don’t know if they’ve got new suits, some of them have probably got them left over from last year. I wasn’t here last year so I’ve got my new suit.”

United arrive at the final on the back of 10 consecutive Premier League wins that have fired them seven points clear in the title race and an impressive display in 0-0 draw with Inter in the San Siro on Tuesday