Preview: Manchester United vs. Charlton Athletic
A place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup is on the line when Manchester United welcome League One outfit Charlton Athletic to Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 3-1 success over Everton on Friday night, while the Addicks overcame Lincoln City 2-1 in the third tier last time out.
Going from hero to zero in the space of an hour, Everton centre-back Conor Coady went through all the emotions on Friday night, as Man United survived a brief scare to overcome the Toffees and book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Antony’s quickfire opener preceded a howler from David de Gea, allowing Coady to level the scores with just 14 minutes on the clock, but the England international turned into his own net after the restart prior to Marcus Rashford’s penalty deep into added time.
Also escaping a chested, albeit offside, Dominic Calvert-Lewin effort courtesy of a VAR review, Man United continue to fight for success on four fronts this season and have already battled past Aston Villa and Burnley to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.
The five-time winners – who last went all the way in 2017 – suffered back-to-back semi-final exits to Manchester City in 2020 and 2021, and their last two quarter-final eliminations have come against sides in lower divisions, but very few will hold out hope of a giant killing here.
The Erik ten Hag revolution is gathering a head of steam, as Man United enter Tuesday’s game aiming to stretch their winning streak in all competitions to six matches, and all eight of their last games at Old Trafford have ended in victory, with 21 goals in tow.
Having suffered a blow to their festive celebrations after an early FA Cup exit at the hands of Stockport County, Charlton instead continued their quest for an unlikely playoff place in the League One standings against Lincoln on Saturday and were rewarded for their first-half attacking guile.
Scott Fraser and Corey Blackett-Taylor struck before the half-time whistle for the Addicks, who limited their visitors to just the one goal through Daniel Mandroiu in the 76th minute as they made it back-to-back wins to open 2023, having seen off Portsmouth 3-1 on New Year’s Day.
Dean Holden’s crop remain rank outsiders when it comes to challenging for a coveted place in the Championship, languishing in 12th place and nine points adrift of the top six, but a slice of club history is on the line for the visitors to the Theatre of Dreams.
Indeed, Charlton have never progressed to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup in their 118-year history and have only ever reached the quarter-finals once before in the 2006-07 season, which ended in dismay as Wycombe Wanderers claimed a 1-0 victory.
Queens Park Rangers, Walsall, Stevenage and Brighton & Hove Albion have all fallen to Charlton’s superiority in the 2022-23 EFL Cup, but only against Walsall did they not need a penalty shootout to progress, and the Addicks have lost all of their last 10 meetings with Man United.
Manchester United EFL Cup form:
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Manchester United form (all competitions):
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Charlton Athletic EFL Cup form:
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Charlton Athletic form (all competitions):
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We say: Manchester United 2-0 Charlton Athletic
Discovering a taste for goals and affinity for clean sheets during the winter period, even a second-string Man United side should experience few obstacles en route to a place in the semi-finals.
One can expect the visitors to set up defensively amid their propensity to ship goals away from home, but Ten Hag’s men can still expect to seal their place in the final four with minimal fuss.