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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
David Byrom

Why Manchester United and Man City Carabao Cup semi final will be played over one leg

Manchester United will host Manchester City in one of the Carabao Cup semi-finals in a repeat of last year's last-four tie.

Earlier this year City won 3-2 on aggregate after the Blues won 3-1 at Old Trafford and United won the reverse fixture 1-0.

City went on to beat Aston Villa in the final and win a third successive Carabao Cup.

United now have their chance to get revenge on their rivals and prevent Pep Guardiola's side from winning the competition for a record-equalling four times in a row.

Yet there is a major difference between this season and last year's semi-final, with ties no longer taking place over two legs.

Instead, just a single-leg knockout game will be held on the week commencing January 4. With United being drawn first following their 2-0 win over Everton, the game will be played at Old Trafford.

The EFL announced at the start of the season that the semi-finals will switch from two legs to one this year due to fixture congestion caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The semi-finals will feature one crucial difference from earlier rounds, with extra-time being reintroduced to the competition.

Extra-time was scrapped ahead of the 2018/19 season in order to help reduce fatigue for players, with drawn ties instead going straight to a penalty shootout.

With the absence of a second leg, the EFL opted to allow extra-time for the semi-final along with the final.

The semi-final and final will also feature VAR, which was not available in previous rounds of the competition.

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