Last updated at 20:00, Tuesday 25th October 2011

Hylton offers five-star luxury

Mike Holden

For most young strikers cutting their teeth in the lower leagues, the opportunity to play a televised cup tie against Premier League opposition might only come around once.

The likelihood that the opposition will be Manchester United is slimmer still, and the odds that you will go into the game in the best form of your life are probably long enough to make you believe that the situation is somehow pre-ordained, that your moment has arrived.

We don't expect anything other than a straightforward Manchester United victory against Aldershot at the Recreation Ground on Tuesday night, but we do see value in backing Danny Hylton to score anytime at 5/1.

The 22-year-old Londoner has always had an eye for goal but his exploits this season would suggest he has come of age and if he's looking to catch the eye of one or two people further up the divisions, what better way to showcase your predatory instincts than taking a chance when it comes your way against United?

Hylton was the hero when Aldershot beat West Ham in the first round, scoring the winner in the last minute at Upton Park. He was also the hero in round three against Rochdale, scoring the winner on 78 minutes when the Shots again overturned a one-goal deficit to win 2-1.

Now he heads into this game against Sir Alex Ferguson's men having already hit double-figures for the season following a hot streak of six goals in his last six starts.

For Aldershot, the dream of beating United might last all of 20 minutes. For Hylton, the dream of scoring against United should last the full 90 and we should expect him to keep believing throughout that his big moment will arrive at some point.

United might have kept a clean sheet against Leeds in the last round but that was a game with added significance because of the opposition.

Last season, the Red Devils shipped eight goals in three Carling Cup matches and while they should win this game with something to spare, that's not to say there won't be something in it for Aldershot - and particularly Hylton.

Meanwhile, the all-Championship encounter between Cardiff and Burnley in the Welsh capital should be high on drama if the story so far is anything to go by.

Of the six previous matches that the two sides have played in this season's competition, five have gone to extra-time. Although that's not to say either side should be especially proud of the fact - five of those games were against lower-division opposition.

It's interesting that five of those games also produced at least one goal in the last 10 minutes of normal time (seven late goals in total), so we see some mileage in backing the last goal to be scored after 73 minutes at 10/11 with Paddy Power.

That's not to say those previous examples should be taken as a sure-fire indicator of late excitement here but these are two pretty evenly-matched sides, they've been through a lot to get this far and we should expect them to play as though anything is possible right through until the death.

If one team happens to be ahead come the 73rd minute, expect the other to force the issue to breaking point, throwing an even higher degree of caution to the wind than you might normally expect.

Finally, take some of the 21/10 about Crystal Palace beating Southampton at Selhurst Park.

It's with a heavy heart that we oppose Saints after backing them in the outright market at 100/1 but we simply have to be with the Eagles at these prices based on what we know about team selection and what we've seen of the Eagles so far this term.

Palace are an extremely tenacious outfit and Dougie Freedman has fielded a strong side in every round of this competition.

Saints are pretty dogged themselves, as they illustrated at Reading on Saturday, but when Nigel Adkins hints at freshening things up for this match, we start to question whether they can match the Londoners and stand up to whatever might be thrown at them. After all, it was too much for Wigan and Middlesbrough at similar prices in the last two rounds.

Even in a league game, we'd consider odds of greater than 2/1 about Palace at home. In this competition, with the Eagles' incredible record of 16 wins in the last 18 home ties and just two defeats in the last 29, the bet seems like a no-brainer.