MANCHESTER UNITED begin their two-legged Carabao Cup affair with Nottingham Forest tonight with the hope of planting one foot firmly in the final.
Casemiro returns to the starting eleven having missed out on the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal due to suspension.
And Forest keeper Wayne Hennessey will have to be on form to keep out the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes.
Kick-off time: 8pm GMT Live stream: NOW TV TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event Nott'm Forest XI: Hennessey; Aurier, Worrall, McKenna, Lodi; Danilo, Freuler, Gibbs-White; Scarpa; Surridge, Johnson Man Utd XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Martinez, Malacia; Eriksen, Casemiro; Antony, Weghorst, RashfordTHE BEST CASINO BONUSES FOR PLAYERS IN THE UK: TOP 10 SITES FOR 2023
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just nowRoy Keane, still much-loved at the City Ground, has been talking about his time at the club.
When asked about playing under Brian Clough, he has nothing but good things to say about the character that was the Forest manager.
All of this despite once being punched by Brian Clough after the game for a loose pass that led to a goal.
Classic Clough, neither fans nor players were safe.
Credit: PA
7 minutes agoNottingham Forest will have to cope with the joint top-scorer in this season's competition this evening.
Marcus Rashford has four goals in the EFL Cup putting him level with Southampton's Che Adams.
The Man Utd attacker has been in red-hot form this season, asking questions about his lack of game time at the World Cup in Qatar.
14 minutes ago22. Heaton, 19. Varane, 33. Williams, 17. Fred, 73. Mainoo, 39. McTominay, 28. Pellistri, 36. Elanga, 49. Garnacho
22 minutes agoErik ten Hag picks a strong side for the semi-final with Casemiro returning to the side after his suspension against Arsenal.
United fans will be surprised to see no Maguire or Shaw in tonight's squad however.
1. de Gea, 2. Lindelof, 6. Martinez, 8. Fernandes, 10. Rashford, 12. Malacia, 14. Eriksen, 18. Casemiro, 21. Antony, 27. Weghorst, 29. Wan-Bissaka
Credit: @ManUtd
25 minutes ago12. Smith, 3. Cook, 5. Mangala, 7. Williams, 8. Colback, 11. Lingard, 14. O'Brien, 25. Dennis, 30. Boly
29 minutes agoDanilo keeps his place in midfield after an impressive 45 minutes on debut at the weekend while Wayne Hennessey continues in between the sticks.
13. Hennessey, 4. Worrall, 10. Gibbs-White, 16. Surridge, 20. Johnson, 23. Freuler, 24. Aurier, 26. McKenna, 28. Danilo, 31. Scarpa, 32. Lodi
Credit: @NFFC
34 minutes agoLuke Shaw was one member not seen coming off the bus in Nottingham.
The talk is that Harry Maguire was not seen with the squad also.
Luke Shaw is among those that aren’t in the #MUFC squad at the City Ground. Casemiro back with the group pic.twitter.com/9YUm5mEHiS— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) January 25, 2023
37 minutes agoSat on the touchline, surveying the pitch, fans of both teams will be looking longingly wondering if they dare to dream.
Forest have won the competition four times before, having reached six league cup finals.
Where as the visitors thins evening have won the trophy on five previous occasions.
Credit: Reuters
45 minutes agoBoth sets of fans will be hoping that they can see their sides progress to the final of the EFL Cup.
For Forest, it seemed earlier in the season that their sole focus would be on Premier League survival which seemed a long way off.
United, a side used to winning trophies regularly, have had to get used to an empty trophy cabinet of late, something they will feel the need to address.
53 minutes agoten Hag has spoken about the importance of winning trophies at Old Trafford:
It's the best feeling you can have, winning a trophy and I have the luck in my career to win some trophies and it's magnificent, especially for the fans, it's so great and I think the fans here have some experience, especially the older ones, but in this period, Manchester United didn't win trophies and it's too long ago. We are aware of that fact and we have to do it again.
Erik ten Hag
54 minutes agoMan Utd manager Erik ten Hag will be hoping to win something in his first season at the club.
Having had a tough start to his tenure with fans turning on the side, they have changed their fortunes since.
Sitting in the top four, and with a chance of winning another three trophies, things are looking rosy for the red side of Manchester.
55 minutes agoForest edged past Wolves on penalties to make the final four, while United comfortably saw off Charlton Athletic in the quarter-finals.
Only a few months on from the threat of relegation dogfight as their new signings struggled to gel, Steve Cooper’s side are potentially only 180 minutes away from a trip to Wembley.
Now they have established a healthy lead above the Premier League drop zone, they can focus their attentions on the cup.
56 minutes agoNottingham Forest welcome Man Utd to the City Ground tonight as they look to try and put one foot in the final of the EFL Cup.
Wayne Hennessey will continue in goals with Dean Henderson still recovering from a thigh injury.
Je is joined in the treatment room by Taiwo Awoniyi, Cheikhou Kouyate, Omar Richards, Moussa Niakhate and Giulian Biancone.
Ryan Yates was forced off at half-time against Bournemouth on the weekend due to illness, allowing Danilo to make his debut and after an impressive cameo, may well be in line for a starting berth today.
Chris Wood is cup-tied for this contest having played in the competition for Newcastle, which should allow Gustavo Scarpa to return as Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson form the strike partnership.
As for United, Casemiro is available again after his one-game suspension which could see Scott McTominay back on the bench this evening.
Axel Tuanzebe and Donny van de Beek remain sidelined for the Red Devils, who will also be without Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Diogo Dalot through injury.
Sancho is back in team training but this game comes to soon for his comeback.
ten Hag is likely to resist rotating the team until this weekend’s FA Cup clash with Reading and opt for a strong starting XI at the City Ground this evening but Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia are among those who can feel hopeful of being recalled.