The draw for quarter final of the League Cup, also known as the Carling Cup, took place on Saturday 29 October 2011. The matches are due to be played on the week starting 28 November 2011 and will be played over one leg. They will be evening matches, and each match will be decided that night, with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if necessary.
The competition is down to the last eight teams after a few tightly fought fourth round matches, the biggest shock being Blackburn Rovers overcoming their poor league form to beat a flying Newcastle United, but they needed extra time to do it. Chelsea also needed extra time to beat Everton away. Manchester City cruised to a 5-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers while their quietened neighbours Manchester United put last weekend’s drubbing behind them to win 3-0 at lowly Aldershot.
The other two Premiership teams to go through to the quarter finals are Arsenal, who beat Bolton Wanderers at home, and Liverpool, who won away at Stoke City thanks to a brace from Suarez. They are joined by two Championship teams – Cardiff City who beat Burnley and Crystal Palace who won at home to Southampton
Carling Cup Quarter Final Draw (Round Five) in Full
Cardiff City v Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea v Liverpool
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
Ties to Watch Out For
Two of the four ties see battles between Premiership heavy weights as Arsenal take on the in-form Manchester City at the Emirates and Chelsea host a resurgent Liverpool. Championship side Cardiff City will be happy with a home tie against a struggling Blackburn Rovers as it could be a route for the Welsh club to reach the semis. And Manchester United have had the easiest draw of the big boys with a home tie against Crystal Palace.
The possibility of an all Manchester final is a mouth-watering thought after the 6-1 win for Manchester City at Old Trafford, and both will fancy their quarter-final chances.
The Road to Wembley
The League Cup is open to teams in the top four divisions of English football. The trophy dates back to 1960-61 but was not always compulsory. When the prize for winning included a place in the Uefa Cup for the following season, interest grew among the top clubs. Since 1981, the rights to name the cup have been given to sponsors, and the first to take up that were the Milk Marketing Board and thus from 1981 to 1986 it was known as the Milk Cup. Since then, the trophy has been named after Littlewoods, Rumbelows, Coca-Cola and Worthington before the current sponsors named it the Carling Cup in 2003.
The two-legged semi-final will be on the weeks starting 9 January 2012 and 23 January 2012, leading up to the final at Wembley on 26 February 2012.
Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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