The big boys join the Carling Cup tonight - and I'm backing them all to struggle. In fact, I reckon it could be a night of draws for Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

United haven't had the best of starts to their season. Their only league win so far has come against a Portsmouth side who are struggling more than they are - the same Portsmouth side that shipped six goals against the blue half of Manchester.

Ordinarily I'd have United down to lose at home to Middlesbrough tonight, especially as Fergie shows the Carling Cup about as much respect as he does referees. However, his second team is almost as good as his first team these days so, even with a side full of "reserves", I reckon they're good enough for a draw. I also reckon there'll be a few goals. Prediction: Man United 2 Middlesbrough 2.

Arsenal take on Sheffield United at the Emirates and they'd usually be the first name down for a Carling Cup win given the cracking array of young talent Arsene Wenger usually has at his disposal in the reserves. However, most of that cracking young talent has already been promoted to the first team, which could leave Wenger with a bit of a problem tonight.

He is quoted in today's papers as saying: "In the first team we already have many players around the age of 20. We will keep a few of those in the side for the Carling Cup, but the majority of the team will be between 16 and 19. There's a possibility it will be the youngest team I have ever selected."

Every year, when the Carling Cup starts and I see that first team sheet for Arsenal, I recognise about three of the names and assume they'll get stuffed out of sight. And every year I'm surprised at quite how good they are. However, this time I'm sure Wenger's kids won't quite hit the heights of previous years due to their incredibly tender years, and for that reason I'm going for another draw. Prediction: Arsenal 1 Sheff United 1.

Liverpool begin their campaign with an interesting little game against Crewe at Anfield. Don't ask me why, but I just fancy the League One strugglers to get something from the game. Maybe it's my Man United bias coming through - a case of the heart ruling the head - but I think this one could provide the shock result of the round. There's always one!

Liverpool didn't exactly set the world alight against Stoke at the weekend, and Rafa Benitez is probably going to show no respect to his opponents and put out a very weakened Liverpool team thinking they'll be good enough to get the job done. Unfortunately for him, I don't think they will. Prediction: Liverpool 0 Crewe 0.

Finally, I'm looking at Watford v West Ham - and I'm going for my fourth draw of the evening. Watford have been steady if unspectacular in the Championship so far this season, while West Ham look rejuvenated under new boss Gianfranco Zola. But home advantage for the Hornets should give them the little bit extra they'll need to take a draw. Prediction: Watford 1 West Ham 1.

Once again, I'm actually putting my hard-earned money on this - all £2 of it - in a TaiKai game. The beauty of it is that you don't have to get all your predictions right to win, you only have to get them close compared to everyone else who's playing. Plus, you can make your predictions on ANY of tonight's Carling Cup games, not just the ones I've chosen. So if you think I'm full of you-know-what, you know what you can do about it!

Open an account here, and join the tournament here. My username is milkybarkid (don't ask), so look for me at the top of the leaderboard come the end of the night. If you don't fancy putting your money where your mouth is, there's a free to enter tournament here (which I'm also in!) to help you get to grips with the finer points of TaiKai.

Game on!