Knocking out Man City a great omen for Capital One Cup success

Aston Villa, in dumping Manchester City out of the Capital One Cup, have an excellent chance of success in the competition if recent records are anything to go by.

The Villans are now into 16/1 after despatching last season’s semi-finalists in a 4-2 extra-time win and will take confidence in the achievements of other sides who have sent City packing.

Three of the past five winners – Man United, Tottenham and, last season’s winners, Liverpool – all toppled City at some stage before having their name engraved on the trophy.

These all achieved the feat a little later in the competition than Villa did, but it’s definitely a positive omen for those who base bets around such records and now want to lump on Paul Lambert’s men to win this trophy for the sixth time.

As well as the three winners, City’s Capital One Cup conquerors have made the quarter-final stage five times, which Villa are one win away from after their heroics at the Etihad.

A lot of teams have also performed beyond their capabilities after sinking the reigning Premier League champions. This should provide further encouragement for Villa, who still wouldn’t be expected to lift the trophy despite toppling the joint-favourites when the third round draw was made.

Four League One sides have seen off Roberto Mancini’s men in the past decade – two of them have reached the quarters and two the fourth round.

The fourth round is a commendable achievement for any side in England’s third tier, let alone the last-eight. Doncaster were only a penalty shoot-out away from reaching the semis in 2005/06, which would have involved them playing the same amount of games as a Premier League side could expect to play en route to winning.

Lambert and his players will be taking a much greater interest in the fourth round draw than they had originally forecast, but they will be hoping a few more big names get kicked to the curb in the remaining third round ties.

With Everton and one of Newcastle or Man United guaranteed not to be in the hat, Villa will sidestep at least two sides they would be expected to lose against. However, with the likes of Spurs and Arsenal likely to progress and Chelsea already through, the Birmingham club will definitely be reliant on a kind draw if they are to go far in this competition.

All odds and markets accurate as of time and date of publication