Everton v Manchester United: Carabao Cup quarter-final – live!

Heeeeere’s Carlo:

“An important game, important competition, we are going to play against a really tough opponent so we have to try to do our best to reach the semi-final. They are a dangerous team, fast, really good on the counterattack and in possession. We have to concentrate and focus and use our quality when we have the ball.”

“Great team selection from OGS, high hopes for a good game of football tonight, plenty of goals and no injuries for either team,” writes Neil Carter. Amen to all that!

Matt Burtz writes in on a strong Everton selection: “This Everton fan reckons that their lineup tonight is as strong as it could be considering the injuries. They recently kept a clean sheet against two of the top five in the league in xG (Chelsea and Leicester) and the back four has been stout ever since the change in the middle of the Burnley game. Hopefully Coleman’s inclusion will not upset that too much, though it should provide a bit more going forward than Holgate.”

Solskjaer says: “It’s a hectic schedule, we’ve got a game – thank you very much! – on Saturday at 12.30. Some of these players needed a game and I think it’s a strong team that can match them physically.”

Donny van de Beek gets a welcome start, as do Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani, Dean Henderson and Axel Tuanzebe.

Spurs have won 3-1 at Stoke. Get the aftermath with Paul Doyle!

Everton: Olsen; Coleman, Godfrey, Keane, Mina; Douroure, Gomes, Sigurdsson; Iwobi, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Tosun, Bernard, Gordon, Davies.

Manchester United: Henderson; Tuanzebe, Bailly, Maguire, Telles; Matic, Pogba, van de Beek, Fernandes; Greenwood, Cavani. Subs: Grant, Fosu-Mensah, Shaw, Fred, Lingard, Martial, Rashford.

Your next instalment of festive Carabao Cup fare is here! Who’ll join Man City, Spurs (it seems) and … yes … Brentford in the last four?

It’s a good question because we really don’t know. Everton are flying high in the league but do have a defeat in them, including the 3-1 reverse against tonight’s opponents at this very venue

several lifetimes ago
last month. They looked very secure against Chelsea and Arsenal recently, and have done well despite a long injury list, but they have a formidable hurdle to jump tonight.

We might not have described United as one of those very often recently, and they are never too far away from an existential Ole crisis, but domestically they really are flying and wouldn’t it be a shot in the arm to break Man City’s hold on this competition?

Yes it would. Let’s see if they can – or whether it’s a merry Christmas for Carlo Ancelotti’s team! Kick-off is 45 minutes away.