The footballing Gods were so enamoured by the first Manchester Derby with Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola at the helm, that they decided to add one more of this marquee clash to the calendar. Manchester United vs Manchester City is the big matchup of the EFL Cup fourth round, after the two rivals drew each other on Wednesday.
Guardiola might have got one over Mourinho in the first Manchester derby, played earlier this month, with the Spaniard winning the battle of tactics and quality, but the Portuguese will hope his second attempt will prove to be more fruitful as the two teams meet for a chance to move into the quarterfinals.
Manchester United and Manchester City entered the fourth round of the tournament formerly known as the League Cup/Capital One Cup/Carling Cup (depending on which era you started watching English football) thanks to wins over Northampton Town and Swansea City respectively.
While goals from Gael Clichy and Aleix Garcia saw Manchester City best Swansea, Manchester United had their central midfielders, who haven't played as much as they should have this season – Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera – and their wonderfully-talented young forward – Marcus Rashford – to thank for getting them into the fourth round and with it snapping a run which saw them lose three matches in a row.
"We deserved it," Mourinho told MUTV. "It was as I was expecting. We were totally in control for the first 35 minutes and then we were back in control for the last 25 minutes.
"As a team we had control from the beginning. I think the substitutions were just a contribution and, overall, the team was completely in control. They tried to cause us problems, which they did at times, so it was a difficult match but overall it was a positive performance."
While the Manchester derby, to be played at the end of October, will naturally grab all the headlines coming from the fourth round draw, there is another mouth-watering clash in there as well with Tottenham paying a visit to Anfield to face Liverpool.
Spurs eased past Gillingham in the third round on Wednesday, while Liverpool beat Derby County 3-0 a day earlier.
Arsene Wenger will celebrate his 20-year anniversary as Arsenal manager on Thursday and he will be contemplating a home game against Reading, while Chelsea, after their dramatic extra time win over Premier League champions Leicester, will play a London derby against West Ham.
EFL Cup fourth round draw: Arsenal vs Reading
Manchester United vs Manchester City
Liverpool vs Tottenham
West Ham United vs Chelsea
Bristol City vs Hull City
Leeds United vs Norwich City
Newcastle United vs Preston North End
Southampton vs Sunderland
