Man Utd set bizarre record with Carabao Cup fourth-round draw
- Man Utd beat Crystal Palace in the third round
- Red Devils will host Newcastle United in the next round in October
- Game will be United's 12th consecutive home draw
By Tom Gott
Manchester United made history during Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth-round draw as they extended their run of consecutive home ties to 12 games.
Not since March 2021 have United been drawn to play a cup game, either in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup, away from home, with that run set to continue after the Red Devils were paired with Newcastle United in the fourth round later this season.
The odds of drawing 12 consecutive home ties is 4,096/1 or 0.02% - marginally better odds than Leicester City winning the 2015/16 Premier League title.
Indeed, the only domestic cup games United have played away from home came in the two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest last season, as well as the FA Cup semi-final and final at Wembley.
It is believed Shrewsbury held the previous record, drawing 11 home ties in a row between 2017 and 2019. Aston Villa were the previous top-flight record holders with ten consecutive ties before United claimed the honour last season.
Man Utd's record-setting run
Fixture | Date | Competition |
---|---|---|
Man Utd 0-1 West Ham | 22/09/21 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa | 10/01/22 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 1-1 Middlesbrough | 04/02/22 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 4-2 Aston Villa | 10/11/22 | Carabao Cup |
Man Utd 2-0 Burnley | 21/12/22 | Carabao Cup |
Man Utd 3-1 Everton | 06/01/23 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 3-0 Charlton | 10/01/23 | Carabao Cup |
Man Utd 3-1 Reading | 28/01/23 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 3-1 West Ham | 01/03/23 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 3-1 Fulham | 18/03/23 | FA Cup |
Man Utd 3-0 Crystal Palace | 26/09/23 | Carabao Cup |
Man Utd vs Newcastle | TBC | Carabao Cup |
United booked their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday, after which manager Erik ten Hag admitted his delight at his team's performance.
"I think we played quite well and dominated the game," he told the press. "So that was what we were looking for.
"But I also said disappointment and frustration [from the losses]. But the mood is then dropping. The spirit was always good, togetherness was always there and is there. And you could also see that today. And we make a step forward in Burnley, how we defend, how we do that, and togetherness today on the ball and we make another step. So still a lot to come, but we are making [progress] and we are moving forward.
"The mood with us is always good, but of course, when you are not winning, at United, there is disappointment, there is frustration, but the togetherness is always there with us. We know that we are not now in the position where we want to be, yeah. So we have to build up, we have to catch up. Then you have to go from game to game, working on the process and working on the results. We don’t think too far ahead, the next game is the most important, always."