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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Manchester United face more fixture congestion as Carabao Cup semi-final dates confirmed

Manchester United booked their place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 win over League One side Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

Antony's first-half stunner, coupled with two late goals from Marcus Rashford, sealed an eighth successive win for Erik ten Hag's side, meaning they have moved one step closer to possibly ending their trophy drought this season. It is the third time in the last four seasons that they have reached the last-four of this competition, previously reaching this stage in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

United have already been joined in the semi-finals by Newcastle United after they beat Leicester City 2-0 at St James' Park in the other quarter-final that was staged on Tuesday evening. Dan Burn and Joelinton scored in the second half to seal the Magpies' place in the last-four.

READ MORE: Carabao Cup semi-final draw details

The two remaining quarter-finals will be staged on Wednesday evening, as Nottingham Forest take on Wolves at the City Ground and Southampton host Manchester City at St Mary's. The draw for the semi-finals will be conducted following the conclusion of City's clash with the Saints.

Although United are yet to discover who they will face in the next round of the competition, they already have the knowledge that victory over Charlton means that another two fixtures have been added to what is already a very tight and packed schedule. The semi-final ties will be staged over two-legs and the first-legs will take place in the week commencing January 23.

The second-legs will take place the following week in the week commencing January 30. As is tradition with Carabao Cup fixtures, although United's win over Aston Villa in round-three earlier this season was played on a Thursday night, both semi-finals are likely to be staged on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

That means that the Reds' semi-final first-leg is most likely to be played on Wednesday, January 25, as they are in Premier League action on Sunday, January 22, travelling to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal. They would be entitled to a two-day break without a game.

United have been drawn at home to Reading in the fourth-round of the FA Cup and that tie is to be played over the weekend of Friday, January 27 to Monday, January 30. City have also been drawn at home in the next round of the FA Cup, hosting Arsenal, meaning both clubs will not play on the same day. Dates for those fixtures are yet to be confirmed.

It means United face something of a huge fixture pile-up before the end of this month, so much so that they still have six more games to fulfil, starting with Saturday's derby clash with City at Old Trafford.

Carabao Cup semi-final dates:

First legs: Week commencing January 23.

Second legs: Week commencing January 30.

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