I've been Alex Turk, and I hope you've enjoyed following tonight's events in the EFL Cup. Goodnight!
Other notable ties: West Ham United - Chelsea and Liverpool - Tottenham Hotspur. But the big news coming from the Fourth Round Draw is that it will be Manchester Derby Part II at Old Trafford in late October, the EFL Cup just got a lot more important...
MANCHESTER UNITED ARE DRAWN AGAINST MANCHESTER CITY AT OLD TRAFFORD! A FANTASTIC DRAW!
Jose Mourinho tells Sky Sports after the game that his Manchester United team "deserved the win" and Northampton Town should've been down to 10 men after McCourt got away a "poor" challenge on Memphis early on in the second half. Mourinho was impressed with his midfield three of Schneiderlin, Herrera and Carrick and said that they "did a great job" so maybe it might be something we'll see more regularly in competitions like the EFL Cup and Europa League.
Manchester United are through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup, the result would suggest that the Reds brushed their opponents aside however Northampton really did make them work and deserve all the plaudits they get. Maybe even more important than proceeding in this tournament was simply getting a win on the board tonight for United and that's exactly what they did, Mourinho and his squad will be hoping to carry it on at Old Trafford against the Premier League champions on Saturday morning. Please stay with us because the action IS NOT over yet! Oh no, we still have to learn who Manchester United's fourth round opponents will be when the draw takes place in a short while so stick with us so we can give you the breaking news!
90+3. FULL TIME! Northampton 1-3 Manchester United
90. There will be three minutes of added time...
90. United have really slowed the tempo now as they attempt to retain possession. No real chances at the end of the match.
87. MAN OF THE MATCH! VAVEL UK's Man of the Match for tonight's fixture is Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick. The 35-year-old has played his first minutes for United since the Community Shield match and he has controlled the park, sprayed some delightful passes to teammates and bagged himself a brilliant goal as well. Truly deserved and I'm sure United fans will be seeing a lot more of him in weeks to come after his performance tonight!
86. Yellow Card! Alfie Potter shows a bit of laziness when Rooney runs past him and trips the United captain.
84. Really good spell of pressure by Northampton late on. Potter paces down the left flank and finds himself in space, he whips in a decent cross but Smalling heads clear. The ball then falls for Potter on the edge of the area but his touch lets him down and possession is lost.
80. 10 minutes to go in the game now and Manchester look like they are cruising into the pot for the Fourth Round Proper Draw, however one Northampton goal out of nothing can instantly change that.
75. Ander Herrera hoofs the ball up field as part of a clearance after Northampton sent a free-kick into the United box, it looked like there was no chance of Rashford getting to it in time and the keeper did get there first but Smith in the Northampton goal misses the ball in attempt of a clearance and Marcus Rashford gets his reward for not giving up on it. The talented prospect could just stroll towards goal and tap in with his right foot while the keeper just sat there and looked in dismay. One to forget for Adam Smith. No way back for Northampton now? IMPACT.
75. GOAALLL! Marcus Rashford. 3-1 Manchester United!
76. Yellow Card! Daley Blind goes into the book after a needless challenge in the far right wing. Free-kick in a dangerous area for the home side...
72. Manchester United Substitution! Marouane Fellaini comes on in place of Morgan Schneiderlin. Can United hold on?
72. Northampton Substitution! Jak McCourt is replaced by Marc Richards. A final attacking change by Rob Page.
68. Another absolutely fantastic strike by a United player, this time it's Ander Herrera! He's already hit the post once tonight and now he gets his goal. Rashford gets the ball on the right and thinks whether to take his man on or not, the young forward decides to lay it off for the running Ander Herrera who wasn't marked at the edge of the area and the Spaniard slots a low effort past the keeper and into the bottom left corner. United regain the lead!
68. GOAAALLL! Ander Herrera. 2-1 Manchester United!
67. Not for long... Jose Mourinho calls for his big midfielder Marouane Fellaini.
65. Northampton Substitution! Kenji Borre is taken off for Alfie Potter. Both teams have just one substitute left.
61. Quite a brief stoppage in play as Gorre slides into Ashley Young at full speed, both men look hurt but the United winger has definitely come off worse. He's helped off the field to recieve treatment.
59. Woodwork! Herrera does well to make a bit of space for himself 25-yards away from the goal and fires a brilliant effort with his weaker (left) foot onto the lower area of the post in the opposite side of the goal. So close! It remains 1-1.
55. Manchester United Substitution! Double change for the away side. Memphis and Fosu-Mensah are replaced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford, an attacking substitution by Jose Mourinho! Can Rashford make an impact in a new competition?
54. Northampton Substitution! Harry Beautyman is replaced by 2015/2016 Player of the Year John-Joe O'Toole.
50. Claims for offside by the Northampton faithful were waved away as Herrera was slipped through on the right however Zakuani came up with a heroic block so stop the ball entering the danger zone.
49. Easy save for Smith. Memphis cuts inside and tries a long range curling effort however it lacked real fizz and the Northampton keeper claimed the ball comfortably.
48. Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have all been sent to warm up by Jose Mourinho.
47. Yellow Card! Memphis accelerates down the left flank however is clattered from behind by McCourt. The challenge looked very bad indeed and it could easily be said that the Northampton midfielder is fortunate to still be on the pitch.
46. Northampton Town get us underway in the second half.
Well, what an interesting turn of events at the latter stages of that half. Manchester United were crusing throughout the whole 45 minutes however poor finishing and sloppy defending cost the Reds as Alex Revell converted a late penalty three minutes from the break in response to Michael Carrick's magnificent strike on 17 minutes. Stay tuned, go grab yourself a drink and snacks because the match will be restarting shortly.
45+2. HALF TIME!
45. Two minutes added on at the end of the first-half...
43. "You're getting sacked in the morning!" is ringing out around Sixfields Stadium, obviously towards the man in the Manchester United dugout.
42. Utterly dismal defending by United in their area leads to Blind bundling over Hoskins. Alex Revell steps up for the penalty and calmly slots home in the bottom right corner and sends Romero the wrong way!
42. GOAAALLL! Alex Revell scores the penalty. 1-1!
42. PENALTY NORTHAMPTON TOWN!
38. Chance! Wow! One of the biggest chances Northampton will probably get tonight. Gorre eases past Fosu-Mensah on the left and suddenly finds himself in a lot of space, his attempt clips the bar and goes over! Wake up call for United!
35. 10 minutes left of the first half and United are in total control like they have been for the whole game so far. No more chances as of yet, however. Mourinho will want a couple more goals you'd imagine because anything can happen in the cup!
31. GOALLL... NO! Schneiderlin recieves the ball about 30-yards out on the left side of the field, he floats a delightful ball over the top of Northampton's defensive line and it is met by the head of charging Fosu-Mensah who smashes a header onto the bar! Wayne Rooney heads the rebound into the net but the skipper is OFFSIDE.
25. Northampton Town looking more threatening now. The home side win a corner but Carrick clears with ease only to find Revell who tries an audatious attempt on the turn. Miles over. Still 1-0.
24. Since the goal, Northampton have actually got into the game a bit. Taylor aimed a menacing ball at the centre of the United box which led to Romero having to come out and punch the ball away with Alex Revell lurking in the shadows.
17. After a pathetic back-pass conceded by Northampton, Rooney's free-kick was awful and cannoned off the wall however Michael Carrick was there on the far right edge of the area to fire a fantastic strike into the far top corner. What. A. Goal. He's certainly showing Jose Mourinho what he's been missing!
17. GOAAALLL! Michael Carrick. 1-0 Manchester United!
15. Chance! Rojo does a great bit of work on the left and fires a low cross into a horrid area for Northampton to defend. Rooney got closest and slid in but couldn't connect and the ball rolled out for a throw-in.
13: Taylor carelessly lost the ball for the home side and Fosu-Mensah was quickest to react, the young right-back played it through to Young on the right who did well to lose his man with a great dribbling demonstration. The ball was lifted into the box towards Rooney but Diamond tracked back brilliantly and cleared.
10: Northampton won a corner on the right side of the pitch, Taylor whipped a dangerous-looking ball into the back post area but Chris Smalling was there and did very well to clear while being under pressure.
7: Chance! Huge opportunity for Wayne Rooney to give the visitors the lead there! Carrick once again starts a move by hitting a shot towards goal from outside the area, Rooney blocked the initial shot however Young was found on the right, the ball was then squared to an unmarked Rooney but he fluffed a shot from 8 yards out and a goalkeeper was given. Poor.
3: Manchester United have started very strongly here. Carrick hits a fantastic long-range pass to Memphis, the Dutch winger finds Rooney on the edge of the penalty box and the United captain hits a shot straight at Smith in the Northampton goal.
1: The game gets underway, United kick us off!
The teams are in the tunnel and we're ready to go!
The contrast of clubs is huge tonight but Northampton will really fancy causing an upset this evening, manager Rob Page has told Sky Sports that United might need an "off-day" if his side are to get something from the match.
Northampton Town's squad for the 2016/17 season costs a total of around £100k, Manchester United? 529 million.
Manchester United have spent 92 seasons in the top division of English football however it's just the one for Northampton.
Northampton Town have achieved no major honours in their history, Manchester United have achieved 43.
A few fun facts for you as we approach kick-off...
Please stay with us until play gets underway, the countdown has begun. 45 minutes to go.
It was under questioning as to whether Jose Mourinho would make so many changes tonight as he did for the match at Feyenoord which obviously backfired, the answer to those questions is yes. The Manchester United boss has made NINE changes to his team after the humilation at Watford on Sunday. Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Memphis and Young come in for the Reds while Fellaini, Rashford and Ibrahimovic drop to the bench.
Rob Page has made just two changes to his Northampton side that lost to Chesterfield on Saturday. Zakuani and Taylor replace Nyatanga and Anderson.
Manchester United Substitutes: Johnstone, Darmian, Fellaini, Lingard, Mata, Rashford, Ibrahimovic.
Northampton Town Substitutes: Cornell, Byrom, Richards, Potter, Sonupe, O'Toole, Nyatanga.
Manchester United Starting XI: Romero; Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Memphis, Herrera, Young; Rooney (c).
Northampton Town Starting XI: Smith; Moloney, Diamond, Zakuani, Buchanan (c); McCourt, Taylor; Beautyman, Taylor, Gorre; Revell.
So, we are now just an hour away from kick-off and the team news is in from the Sixfields Stadium...
Manchester United Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Romero; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Carrick, Fellaini; Lingard, Rooney, Memphis; Rashford
Northampton Town Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Smith; Moloney, Diamond, Nyatanga, Buchanan; McCourt, Taylor; Beautyman, O'Toole, Gorre; Revell.
So just 15 minutes left until team news is released but before then we've taken the almost impossible task of predicted the starting lineups for both sides this evening, rotation is expected for Manchester United but it wouldn't be suprising the see Northampton stick to a solid first team.
Kick-off will be at 7:45PM BST with team news expected to come out an hour beforehand, so stay with VAVEL UK until then for more live updates.
Manchester United's Key Player: Jose Mourinho has a dazzling array of superstars at his disposal this season at United however after strong reports suggest that David De Gea, Eric Bailly and Paul Pogba will be rested there i only one man you can highlight, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish veteran has already scored four goals in his first five Premier League matches for the Red Devils so whenever he's on the pitch it will almost certainly put opponents into panic mode. It's unlikelythat the self-proclaimed 'God of Manchester' will start tonight however he's in the match-day squad and will be there for Mourinho to use if needed.
Northampton Town's Key Player: Despite Sixfields Stadium being the home of a few former Premier League names such as Matt Taylor and ex-United youth player Kenji Gorre there is one main threat in Northampton's ranks and that's Alex Revell. The 33-year-old striker has scored four goals already this term along with the late equaliser that sent the game against West Bromwich Albion to penalties in the last round, Town obviously went on to win that match.
Manchester United have never been beaten by Northampton Town in the four previous encounter the two sides have had. They have never met in a League (EFL) Cup tie however United have come out on top in two FA Cup clashes, winning 8-2 and then 3-0 in the most recent meeting during the 2004/2005 season. The Reds will be happy to know that the hosts this evening have shipped 18 goals in those four matches so a high-scoring victory could well be on the cards if Mourinho plays his cards right.
Northampton will definitely be full of confidence with their home fans behind them despite going down 3-1 when they visited Chesterfield at the weekend, a defeat which resulted in the end of an astonishing club-record 31 game unbeaten run. The Cobblers' boss Rob Page told media outlets after the defeat that tonights' fixture presents a "perfect opportunity to bounce back" so the home side certainly won't be push overs.
Jose Mourinho is looking to avoid a career-first four consecutive defeats however the pressure is evidently increasing with each game. After a scintillating start to the season, United were beaten and outplayed by an impressive Manchester City side, now six points ahead in the title race already. Looking to bounce back, United couldn't and were poor and dull in their opening UEFA Europa League fixture against Feyenoord, as Tonny Vilhena struck a late winner. Watford then took on United, pressurised them to no opposition and comfortably won 3-1.
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL UK's live minute-by-minute match coverage of Northampton Town - Manchester United at Sixfields Stadium in the EFL Cup Third Round. We should be all set for kick-off at 7:45PM BST but until then we'll have plenty of build-up from me, Alex Turk, as we count down to the beginning of United's cup adventure.