Manchester United will face Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup later this month after the two sides were pitted up against each other in Wednesday night's draw.
Just 24 hours after United sealed their place in the last-four with a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic, Forest took another giant stride towards Wembley with a penalty shootout victory over Wolves at the City Ground. Steve Cooper's side prevailed 4-3 on spot-kicks following a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes.
The first leg, though an exact date is yet to be confirmed, will take place in the week commencing January 23 at the City Ground and the second leg will take place the following week at Old Trafford. The two encounters will take place either side of United's FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Championship side Reading.
READ MORE: What Wout Weghorst must prove to have a future at United
Although United have aspirations of winning the Carabao Cup this season, a dream that has been strengthened following Manchester City's shock quarter-final exit at the hands of Southampton, their progression to the semi-finals does mean that their fixture schedule has become even more condensed, so much so that they still have six more games to cram in before the end of this month. They have three fixtures in the Premier League to fulfil, two in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup.
United will kick-off what promises to be another mammoth period at home to cross-city rivals City on Saturday, looking to move within a point of their arch-rivals in the Premier League table, before travelling to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace next Wednesday. It was only confirmed on Sunday that United's rearranged trip to Palace would take place so soon.
Erik ten Hag's side will then return to London just four days later on Sunday, January 22 for another crunch Premier League encounter, locking horns with current table-toppers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Attention will then immediately switch to the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Forest at the City Ground. Given the Reds face Arsenal on Sunday January 22, it is likely to be staged on Wednesday January 25, though an official date is yet to be announced.
United, too, are still waiting for an official date for their FA Cup fourth-round tussle at home to Reading. FA Cup fourth-round fixtures are being staged over the final weekend in January, but TV selections are yet to be announced.
City are also at home in the next round of the FA Cup, welcoming Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium, meaning both Manchester clubs will not be at home on the same day. Should United get the nod to stage their clash with Reading on Saturday January 28, the second-leg of their clash with Forest could take place on Tuesday, January 31.
Confirmation of dates for both clashes with Forest and the FA Cup tie with Reading will be confirmed in due course.
United's remaining January fixtures:
- Manchester City (H) - Premier League - January 14
- Crystal Palace (A) - Premier League - January 18
- Arsenal (A) - Premier League - January 22
- Nottingham Forest (A) - Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg - TBC
- Reading (H) - FA Cup fourth round - TBC
- Nottingham Forest (H) - Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg TBC
READ NEXT:
