Semi-Final Draw Revealed – Man United face more fixture congestion as Carabao Cup semi-final dates confirmed

Manchester United advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win over League One Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

Erik ten Hag’s team won their eighth consecutive game thanks to Antony’s first-half stunner and two late goals from Marcus Rashford, putting them one step closer to ending their trophy drought this season. This is their third appearance in the competition’s last four seasons, having previously reached this stage in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Newcastle United, who defeated Leicester City 2-0 at St James’ Park in the other quarter-final on Tuesday evening, has already joined United in the semi-finals. Dan Burn and Joelinton scored in the second half to put the Magpies through to the final four.

The final two quarter-final matches will take place on Wednesday evening, with Nottingham Forest hosting Wolves at the City Ground and Southampton hosting Manchester City at St Mary’s. The semi-final draw will take place following the completion of City’s match against Southampton.

Although United has yet to learn who they will face in the next round of the competition, they do know that win over Charlton adds two more games to what is already a very tight and packed schedule. The semi-final matches will be played in two legs, with the first leg taking place in the week of January 23.

The second leg will take held the following week, beginning January 30. Although United’s round-three win against Aston Villa earlier this season was played on a Thursday night, both semi-finals are expected to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

That means the Reds’ semi-final first leg will most likely be played on Wednesday, January 25, as they will be in Premier League action on Sunday, January 22, when they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal. They are entitled to a two-day rest if there is no game.

United have been drawn to play Reading at home in the fourth round of the FA Cup, which will take place during the weekend of Friday, January 27 to Monday, January 30. City has also been drawn to host Arsenal in the next round of the FA Cup, which means both clubs will not play on the same day. The dates for the games are yet to be determined.

It means United will have a massive schedule pile-up before the end of the month, with six games remaining, beginning with Saturday’s derby meeting with City at Old Trafford.

Dates for the Carabao Cup semi-finals:

The first legs will begin the week of January 23.

Second legs will begin the week of January 30.