Manchester City face a derby clash against Wigan Athletic in the Capital One Cup – and the Blues will be hoping to avenge their FA Cup final defeat this time round.
It has been all change at both clubs as neither manager who took charge at Wembley on May 11 will be in the dugout for their next clash.
Failure to defeat Wigan was seen by many as the final nail in the coffin for Roberto Mancini’s managerial reign at the Blues – he was sacked three days later.
New manager Manuel Pellegrini has already brought in four new faces this summer and is expected to add a couple more to City’s already £90million outlay before the transfer window closes on Monday.
A spokesperson for Manchester City fanzine Blue Moon said: “I’d like to see Pellegrini take the competition seriously, and with the squad depth we have we should be able to compete on all fronts this season.
“It’s a good opportunity for some peripheral players to get much needed game time, and I’d like to see youngsters such as Marco Lopes given a chance.”
At Wigan, Owen Coyle, who replaced Roberto Martinez in June, has already made 11 signings while 12 players have left the DW Stadium.
Meanwhile, two of English football’s most successful clubs meet at Old Trafford after Manchester United and Liverpool were drawn together.
The match at Old Trafford is a repeat of the 1983 and 2003 League Cup finals, both of which were won by the team from Anfield.
The Red Devils have won the League Cup four times in their history but, in Liverpool, face the most successful club in the history of the competition after having lifted the trophy eight times.
The last time Manchester United won this trophy was in 2010 when they beat Aston Villa 2-1, when it was still under its former guise as the Carling Cup.
This tie could mark the first game back for Luis Suarez, assuming he is still a Liverpool player, after a ten match suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic back in April.
Round Three ties will be held in the week commencing Monday September 23.
Image courtesy of MCFCtv via YouTube, with thanks.
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