Both Manchester clubs were drawn away in the Quarter Finals of the Carabao Cup after a lengthy delay due to a “technical glitch” after which the draw was pre-recorded and shared on Twitter almost two hours after failing to appear at the scheduled 4pm start time.
It’s not the first time that the Carabao Cup draw has faced scrutiny, with the draw for the previous round made in the early hours in the UK to suit sponsors in the Far East who had arranged the draw in Beijing at 11.15am local time.
Technical glitches also plagued the earlier draws, with Charlton Athletic appearing to be being drawn out twice in the first round which was relayed in silence.
With many teams playing weakened sides in the earlier rounds it’s possible that stronger sides will be in evidence as the competition reaches the last eight.
Pep Guardiola, had criticised the match ball during City’s 4-1 penalty shootout win against Wolves following an entertaining stalemate at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
They will travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City who appointed ex-Southampton manager Claude Puel yesterday following the sacking of Craig Shakespeare.
Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United have the easiest tie on paper, travelling to Ashton Gate to play ex-Oldham Athletic boss Lee Johnson’s Bristol City after brushing aside Swansea City on Tuesday.
The Robins are currently seventh in the Championship and stunned Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace 4-1 to book a glamourous tie of the round against the Reds – the first time that United have played against the Robins since the 1979/80 season.
The remaining ties are all-Premier League affairs and will see Antonio Conte’s Chelsea host Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, while Arsene Wenger will have to be on his guard when his Arsenal side play Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side who may just have saved his job after a rousing comeback from 2-0 down to beat Spurs 3-2 at Wembley.
Wenger will have his role as the Gunners manager reviewed at the end of the season when he will be half way through the two year deal he signed in the summer to continue into his 21st year as Arsenal boss.
Although the Gunners have tasted FA Cup success in recent years they haven’t looked like title contenders in a decade and slipped out of the top four last season to fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in Wenger’s tenure.
Carabao Cup Quarter Final Draw
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Arsenal v West Ham
Leicester v Manchester City
Bristol City v Manchester United
Ties will be played in the week commencing December 18.