Manchester United – Tottenham Hotspur

Join us from 19:45 for live commentary of Manchester United's Carling Cup clash with Spurs at Old Trafford.

Evening all and welcome to ESPN Soccernet's coverage of the Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur Carling Cup quarter-final.

There's 15 minutes until kick-off and the team news is in.

MAN UTD: Kuszczak, Neville, Brown, Vidic, De Laet, Park,Gibson, Anderson, Obertan, Welbeck, Berbatov.

Subs: Amos, Owen, Giggs, Tosic, Carrick, Fletcher, Macheda.

SPURS: Gomes, Hutton, Bassong, Dawson, Bale, Lennon, Jenas, Palacios, Bentley, Defoe, Keane.

Subs: Walker, Huddlestone, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch, Naughton, Corluka, Rose.

So, the big news for Sir Alex Ferguson's side is that Dimitar Berbatov returns, to make his first United appearance since scoring against Blackburn on October 31.

And there is no place in the starting line-up for Michael Owen, with Danny Wellbeck preferred up top with the Bulgarian.

Harry Redknapp hands his fourth consecutive Carling Cup start - he's played every minute of Spurs' League Cup campaign.

There's only six players starting who played in the Carling Cup final between the sides earlier this year. United won that one on penalties.

Interesting prospect is Lennon against either the inexperience of De Laet or the ageing legs of Gary Neville. Either way, expect the fleet-footed winger to be Spurs' best attacking outlet.

Players just on their way out now, United coming into this one on the back of their 4-1 drubbing of Pompey, while Spurs battled to a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

The two sides met earlier this season at White Hart Lane, with United emerging victorious. Defore opened the scoring in that one after only a minute but goals from Giggs, Anderson and Rooney handed Sir Alex Ferguson's side the 3-1 win.

Big chances tonight for United's youngsters. Ritchie De Laet gets his first start of the season having come on as a sub in United's Carling Cup victories over Wolves and Barnsley.

And we're off...

United kick-off then and we'll see how the likes of Obertan, Welbeck and Gibson handle themselves against a near full strength Spurs side.

Anderson steals the ball in midfield and advances at pace through the middle. He takes a right foot swipe at the ball but it's dragged wide.

Lennin brings it forward before spreading iut right to Hutton.

Bentley swings in an early cross but it's staright over the top. Neville ushers it out for a throw-in.

Obertan comes forward and plays in Welbeck down the right, but after playing a one-two with Berbatov the French winger finds himself in the way.

Berbatov lays it off to Gibson 20-yards out who drags his shot wide.

The Irishman can hit them well from distance but that was a shocker.

In that last move Berbatov tracked back to win the ball in midfield. I'm not joking!

Handball by Neville in an advanced position and it's a Spurs free-kick to be taken by Bale.

He launches it forward but it's tidied up by Vidic.

Spurs win it back and Lennon runs at Neville, he gets past him to the by-line and pulls back the cross to Bentley. But he's tackled well by Brown. Corner to Spurs.

Short one by lennon who gets it back umarked on the edge of the area. He's in acres but he can't find a Spurs shirt and Gibson clears.

Keane plays it through to Defoe who unleashes a shot from the edge of the area but it's easy enough for Kuszczak.

Little bit of uncertainty from Vidic early on and he almost got tangled up with Kuszczak but the Polish keeper clears it out.

Bale just skipped past two challenges and looked to put in the cross but he was tackled well by Brown.

Twinkle-toes from the Welshman. He's just as (if not more) capable at bombing down the wing.

Good strength from Neville to usher Defoe off the ball but Spurs have it back again.

Good period for Spurs here.

Berbatov on the march and he looks to feed in Welbeck but Hutton does well to get his foot in.

Anderson and De Laet combine well but its given away.

In the other quarter-final Aston Villa are 2-1 up against Portsmouth.

Strong run from Bentley and he passes it back to Jenas who tries a speculative side-footed efort from 30 yards. Over. By quite some way.

The rain is really coming down at Old Trafford but fair play to the players who are trying to keep it on the floor.

Just as I say that Welbeck launches a high pass over the top of Obertan's head and out for a throw-in.

Good play by Hutton down the right who cuts inside and gives it to Keane inside the area. Good first touch by the Irishman to take it on to his left foot but Vidic is out quickly to make the block.

Neville brings down Lennon in full flight. Free-kick and he's probably lucky to avoid the book.

Nothing comes of it.

GOAL! Gibson.

United 1-0 Spurs. Great strike by Gibson, I said he could hit them. And he's struck a low effort from the edge of the area into the bottom left corner. United had broken quickly to set up the goal.

Spurs straight down the other end and they've won a corner.

Bentley delivers it but Berbatov knocks it out.

Foul by De Laet and Spurs have a free-kick in a dangerous position. Bentley to take.

Cleared by Neville.

United break at pace with Anderson and Berbatov tries to play in Obertan but Gomes is out quickly.

Gibson releases Neville with a superb cross-field ball but Neville only just gets to it and can't get a solid connection. Ten years ago he would have been on to it in a flash.

Bale gets a cross into Defoe. He's in acres and he brings it down. It must be a goal..

No, what a block from De Laet, Defoe's left-foot effort was heading in for sure.

Anderson tugs back Lennon and it's another free-kick for Spurs. The wingers have been excellent for Harry Redknapp's side, as has Bale on the overlap.

End to end stuff here, kudos to the Old Trafford faithful - it's noisy in Manchester tonight.

Just saw that De Laet block again, was absolutely crucial.

But the young defender brings down Bentley on the touchline who will pick himself up and try to deliver again.

Bentley crosses but he's spooned it high over the bar. Plenty of frustrated looking Spurs players trudging out of the box.

Spurs are really unlucky to be behind. They've definitely looked the better side. Bale and Palacios keeping the ball well, Spurs happy to be patient.

Or not. Bassong hoofs it forward and gives it back to United.

United have not lost in 20 league and cup matches against Spurs. They have won 15 and drawn five since Tottenham's 3-1 home win in the Premier League in May 2001.

Good run from Hutton who rides the challenges of Park and De Laet but he's forced over by Vidic in the area. Just good strength from the Serbian defender though, no foul.

Berbatov advances for United. I'm surprised how little of the ball Obertan's seen so far. Bale and Hutton are both more attacking full-backs and United should perhaps look to the wings to exploit that.

Obertan picks it up and advances at pace. But Bale tracks back well.

First sign of any break there from United since the goal. Spurs have been absolutely dominant.

Kuszczak launches it forward. Obertan and Anderson link well but again the ball is over-hit. Wasteful from United.

Defoe plays in Keane who has got ahead of Vidic on the edge of the area. He brings it inside onto his left in the area which gives Vidic a chance to make a fantastic last-ditch lunge to win the ball.

Anderson spreads it to De Laet and he looks inside again for the Brazilian. But Gomes comes out to gather.

Incredible touch by Berbatov. Gibson fed the ball in high to the Bulgarian and he controlled it out with his foot seemingly above his shoulder.

Berbatov has it on the edge now and he crosses in to Park who can't quite get there.

Spurs push forward with Lennon and the winger looks for Defoe who is offside.

Bale charges down the left, tracked well by Welbeck. He comes inside to jenas who spreads it right to Hutton.

Cross from Hutton but it's not past the first man and he gets it back.

Bentley has it and he looks to put the ball in the danger zone. Unfortunately it's in the "no-Spurs-players-in-sight zone".

Lennon brought down by Anderson in midifeld. As usual the England international has drawn plenty of free-kicks.

Park feeds in De Laet down the left who produces a cross-cum-shot. Whatever it is, it's over the bar.

GOAL! Gibson's done it again.

United 2-0 Spurs. The Irishman plays a one-two with Welbeck on the edge and he's curled one perfectly in to the top right corner past a helpless Gomes. Stunning finish...even better than the first!

An absolute hammer blow to Spurs. Two sucker punches delivered by United's young midfielder.

Obertan down the right now and he knocks it to Anderson on the right wing. The Brazilian cuts inside and delivers the cross. Dawson deals with it, knocking out for a United corner.

Poor delivery and Spurs can regroup.

United holding onto it now and the goal seems to have reminded them how to keep possession.

Berbatov closing down (I know, that's twice in this game!) and he wins it from Bale. It must be the new stream-lined haircut he's sporting.

Spurs advance with Jenas who wisely spreads it to Lennon. He lays it off to Bale who sticks it in the mixer but Defoe can't fashion a shot.

Kuszczak, looking a little dodgy, palms it out for a corner but again the delivery not good enough for Spurs.

Bentley picks it up down the left and cuts inside. he hits it with his left and perhaps should have just not bothered. Dragged wide. Poor.

Welbeck feeds it Obertan and he must put it on a plate for Berbatov...

It's over-hit and Berbatov looks disgusted. he should have had it on a plate.

HALF-TIME. Unied 2-0 Spurs. It's pretty remarkable that United find themselves two goals to the good but the ruthless shooting of Darron Gibson has sent them into half-time with the lead. Two shots on target, two goals. Those are the facts, despite Spurs playing by far the better football. Grab a cup of tea and I will see you in 15 minutes.

We're off for the second half...

Spurs Sub: Huddlestone on for Palacios.

Elsewhere, Villa lead Portsmouth 2-1 at Fratton Park. A Stiliyan Petrov own goal gave Pompey the lead but Emile Heskey's second goal in three games (I know, I couldn't believe it either) and James Milner put Villa in the driving seat.

Anderson drives forward for United. Welbeck has it on the edge and turns Hutton,a ccelerating into the box. The Scottish defender gets across and knocks it out for a corner.

Gibson delivers it but not past the near post.

Strange handball by BEntley. The ball was going out for a throw-in and he caught it before it dropped out. However, the assistant had already flagged for a throw, so throw it is.

Strange handball by Bentley. The ball was going out for a throw-in and he caught it before it dropped out. However, the assistant had already flagged for a throw, so throw it is.

Huddlestone caught in possessiona and United break again. Berbatov's effort is deflected over.

Poor ball from Gibson and even poorer second effort from Park.

Kuszczak knocks it long and it looks to be heading out but Obertan turns on the burners. He almost got there but good strength by Bassong to shepherd it out.

United coming forward again, what's happened to the Spurs of the opnening 45 minutes?

The last goal United conceded in this competition was against Derby County in the second leg of last season's semi-finals.

Spurs struggling to get a foothold so far.

Huddlestone looks to bring it out of defence. Good work from bentley down the right and he threads it through to Hutton. Plenty of space for him inside the area but he plays it early and it's a shocking ball. No danger and United clear their lines.

Lennon bursts through but he's overrun it.

Obertan with some space down the right but Jenas dispossesses him and Spurs advance. Bentley tries to create some magic down the right but De Laet stands his ground. Hasn't really put a foot wrong yet, the young Belgian defender.

Bale on the prowl now and it's a promising run. He looks to cross but Neville gets in the way. Spurs corner.

Bentley with ANOTHER poor delivery. Spurs have had plenty of chances to put it in the box but the balls have been poor.

Gibson fouls Bentley and it's a free-kick just inside the United half.

Great link-up down the left between Lennon and Defoe but the winger's cross is headed away by Vidic. United have defended resolutely though the final ball has ever really been good enough.

Chance for Spurs...

Good save by Kuszczak. Lennon skipped away from neville again and he laid it back to bentley 12 yards out but his side-footed shot was palmed away by the Polish keeper.

Bentley probably should have done better there. He needed to put his foot through the ball.

Tottenham have suffered just one defeat in regular play in their last 15 League Cup ties.

Gibson advances with Spurs players praying he won't try his luck from distance again.

Gomes is going walkabout here...

An error from Bassong looked to have let Welbeck in but Gomes was out quickly. He met the ball, got in ahead of Welbeck and then brought the ball out at his feet for about 35 yards before distributing it.

United Sub: Carrick on for Obertan.

United Sub: Macheda on for Berbatov.

Peter Crouch is warming up.

The big striker would definitely give Spurs a different outlet. They need to shake things up a little bit.

Keane brought down by Brown. Spurs free-kick.

Anderson threads it to Macheda down the right. Great speed by the Italian to get to the ball but his cross is picked up easily by Gomes.

Here comes Bale for Spurs down the left. He gets a solid cross in and Bentley meets it but his header is wide.

Spurs Sub: Crouch on for Keane.

Peter Crouch is the joint leading scorer in this season's Carling Cup with four goals, including a hat-trick against Preston.

Park wins a free-kick after skipping past Jenas. Macheda looking dangerous but he tries an optimistic outside-of-the-foot pass when he should probably have tried his luck.

Anderson to Welbeck down the left and his cross cannons off Hutton for a United corner.

Anderson to take it. He plays it to Park on the edge who takes one touch before curling a left foot effort just wide of Gomes' right post.

United have changed to 4-3-3 now with Carrick Gibson and Anderson in the middle of the pitch and Welbeck and Park flanking Macheda up top.

Spurs win another free-kick and for the umpteenth time Bentley's cross is woefully inept.

Anderson shows excellent strength to burst through the middle and he cheekily tries to run on to his own ball past Dawson but Gomes is out.

Spurs won this tournament in 1971, 1973, 1999 and 2008, and have been runners-up on three occasions. It doesn't look like they will becoming five time winners.

Bale picks Park's pocket and comes forward again. His cross is turned away by Carrick for a Spurs corner.

Better delivery from Bentley (finally) but Vidic nods it away for another corner.

Wow, two half decent ones in a row from Bentley. Saying that it was a little too high for Crouch. And that's got to be pretty high.

Great ball by Gibson wide to Elbeck. He returns it to Gibson 25 yards out and cries of "shoot" echo around Old Trafford.

He doesn't have a go but perhaps he should have as Spurs emerge with the ball.

United back on the attack and Macheda wins a free-kick after showing some good strength.

Neville looks long for Park but it's too strong for the South Korean.

It would seem that we are heading towards a fairly straightforward United victory. Though Lennon has won another free-kick deep in United territory.

This time it's Bale to deliver and it's a dangerous one. Kuszczak punches it away but Brown's caught an accidental right hook from his keeper there.

There's a bit of claret but Brown looks unperturbed.

De Laet was in the book for that last challenge.

And Hutton's joined him now after bringing down welbeck.

At Fratton Park, Pompey have shipped four at home again. Villa 4-2 victors and they will join, almost certainly, United in the semi-final draw.

United Sub: Tosic on for Anderson

Good performance from Anderson. He's been involved in most of United's build-up play.

Lennon fouled again bursting through. Gibson gets a booking for his troubles.

Huddlestone takes the free-kick and Dawson heads wide. At least Huddlestone found a Spurs player though.

Carrick, Park and Gibson exchange passes and United look to be taking it easy now.

Spurs just never picked up where they left off at half-time.

Cries of "ole" around Old Trafford as United comfortably retain possession.

Good break by De Laet but he selles Macheda short as he attempts to find the Italian.

Dawson down the right and he puts the long ball into Crouch. The big man's header floats harmlessly wide.

United looking to become the first team since Nottingham Forest in 1990 to retain the trophy.

Tosic feeds in Welbeck and his first touch is a little heavy but he's won a corner.

Tosic to take.

Good ball but Dawson heads out and Spurs can try and break.

De Laet wins it back but then gives it away. Anyone fancy keeping possession for more than one pass?

United stream forward again. Macheda turns well and he's looked good since he's come on.

Two minutes of stoppage time to play.

Good work from United around the edge. Macheda shows some neat touches. Park floats it to Welbeck who knocks it back to the Italian. Macheda strikes it low but it's in the side netting.

Lennon crosses to Crouch but it's wide again from the Spurs striker.

It's all over...

MAN UTD 2-0 SPURS. United join Aston Villa in the semis with an efficient performance. Two great strikes from Darron Gibson were enough for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who have not yet conceded a goal in the Carling Cup this season. Spurs will be disappointed, they were unlucky in the first half but offered little in the second. At least Harry Redknapp's side can focus on the league now.

Cheers for tuning in folks, and we'll be back for more Carling Cup action tomorrow when Man City take on Arsenal's youngsters. Check out how Villa advanced <a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=284831&cc=5739&league=ENG.WORTHINGTON">here</a>. See you again soon.