Manchester United and Manchester City will go head-to-head in the
semi-finals of the Carling Cup after being paired together in the draw
for the last four.
City's 3-0 victory over a youthful Arsenal side at Eastlands on
Wednesday night saw them join their local rivals in the hat for the
draw.
- Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal
- Wednesday night results
Holders United were 2-0 winners over Tottenham Hotspur 24 hours
earlier and the two north-west heavyweights were pitted against one
another in a mouth-watering draw.
The two-legged semi-final will begin at the City of Manchester
Stadium on January 5 or 6 with the second leg at Old Trafford two weeks
later.
"They are going to be two fantastic games and the whole of
Manchester will be tuning in and looking forward to some fantastic
games," said City boss Mark Hughes, whose side were beaten 4-3 by
United in a thrilling Premier League game back in September.
"Over two games we'd fancy our chances against anyone left in the draw, so bring them on."
Meanwhile, the other semi-final sees Blackburn Rovers take on Aston Villa.
Rovers overcame Chelsea on penalties following a six-goal thriller at Ewood Park on Wednesday night.
Benni McCarthy's extra-time penalty was equalised by Paulo Ferreira
with virtually the last kick of the match to take the quarter-final tie
to spot-kicks.
But Chelsea's luck ran out there as Gael Kakuta - the French
youngster whose controversial move to Stamford Bridge led to a two-year
transfer ban - drilled his penalty straight at Paul Robinson to hand
Blackburn a 4-1 spot-kick success.
Villa had swept Premier League strugglers Portsmouth aside 4-2 on Tuesday night to book their own place in the last four.
Source: DSG