Carabao Cup semi-final draw confirmed as Tottenham land horror draw and Arsenal given trophy hopes
THE Carabao Cup semi-final draw has been made with Tottenham Hotspur dealt a tricky tie against Liverpool.
Spurs will have to topple the league leaders, while north London neighbours Arsenal will face Newcastle in the other tie.
Arsenal will feel they have been given the kindest draw possible, while Spurs face a tough test against Liverpool.
The tie also means that there’s a possibility of a North London derby final should both Arsenal and Spurs win their ties.
Spurs will certainly have their work cut out for them against a high-flying Liverpool side.
Arne Slot‘s team, the current Carabao Cup holders, booked their place in the last four with a tricky victory at Southampton last night.
Despite Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott‘s first-half goals, the Reds made it hard work for themselves in the second period, with manager-less Saints unlucky not to draw level after Cameron Archer pulled one back.
Arsenal dumped Crystal Palace out on Wednesday night, with a sublime Gabriel Jesus hat-trick completing an impressive turnaround in a 3-2 win.
Jean-Philippe Mateta had netted an early opener, but the Brazilian’s treble ultimately proved decisive, even if a late Eddie Nketiah consolation did make for a nervy ending.
Newcastle, meanwhile, edged one step closer to their first domestic trophy in nearly 70 YEARS by dumping Brentford out.
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Sandro Tonali ran the show at St James’ Park with a first-half double, but the Toon Army’s celebrations were slightly overshadowed by concerns for Joelinton.
The Brazilian midfielder needed hospital treatment after being on the wrong end of a nasty challenge.
Bees star Nathan Collins struck Joelinton with an elbow, and caught the Newcastle man’s head with his studs as he fell back to the ground.
Tottenham completed the semi-final line-up by comfortably dispatching of Man Utd in arguably the game of the round at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A Dominic Solanke brace either side of a Dejan Kulusevski goal set the wheels in motion, before those same wheels dramatically fell off.
Fraser Forster committed two goalkeeping howlers to gift Ruben Amorim‘s side a lifeline, before fellow understudy Altay Bayindir let Son Heung-min score directly from a corner.
Jonny Evans’ late goal was not enough as Man Utd were sent home empty-handed.
The Carabao Cup semi-final first legs will take place in the week commencing January 6th 2025, with the second legs to follow in the week beginning February 3rd.
The final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday March 16th.
Carabao Cup draw in full
Here's a look at those ties for the semi-finals...
Arsenal vs Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool