Just a few hours to go and I'm walking tall. I have every confidence that we will be taking a trip to Wembley at the end of February and I know that I might be a little over confident, but I just can't see how Blackburn are going to do enough to win over the two legs.
Now, that isn't over confidence, that is speaking to football fans and listening to the radio and nobody can see Blackburn doing enough tonight to make the final. My confidence is growing on the back of what I am hearing all over the place. Is that wrong?
To team news; I don't think there will be many changes. I expect Guzan to come in for Friedel but apart from that, while I will not be surprised if Delph and Albrighton were to start, I don't expect it. I think we will see changes quite early in the second half if Blackburn haven't scored, but that will be for fresh legs and to shore up the midfield.
If Blackburn were to score, I expect a different story and they scored twice at the weekend, beating Fulham, so we know they have goals in them, but the threat is very much going to come from set pieces and long balls. I think defensively, we have enough to deal with that. I've just grown another inch.
Prediction
I'm not going to predict tonight, but I believe we will play in the final. I believe, deep down inside, that this is our season and Martin O'Neill won the League Cup twice with Leicester and on his day, he can get the players up for any game. I think he will do it tonight and I think Villa Park will help.
So, team new here as and when we get it. Your predictions and your preferred starting team below please. There are three t-shirts on offer for whoever gets the score right and if more than three predict the right score (after ninety minutes) we will draw the names from a hat or virtual hat anyway.
Team News
Guzan, Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Webcam, Petrov, Downing, Milner, Gabby and Heskey.
The bench: Friedel, L Young, Sidwell, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Delph, Beye.