Good evening everyone! The League Cup continues tonight with the rest of the third-round ties. Manchester United host Ipswich Town at Old Trafford as Louis van Gaal continues his pursuit of a first trophy with the club. Could there be a shock tonight?
There have been flashes of brilliance in the early stages of Van Gaal's second season, but with the Champions League demanding so much focus, a lot of fringe players will be given the opportunity to impress this evening.
Ipswich's priority is to return to the Premier League after such a long absence, and they are unlikely to be at full strength from the start either. Mick McCarthy's side will be tough to break down this evening and the visitors might just be quietly confident of pushing United all the way.
Plenty of changes from Van Gaal, but perhaps not as many as some may have expected. Andreas Pereira makes his first competitive start for the club. There are starts for David de Gea, Chris Smalling, Juan Mata, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Wayne Rooney. Phil Jones is on the bench and could make his first appearance of the season. It's a very strong side from the hosts.
After claiming a victory over Southampton at the weekend, it would not have been a surprise to see more youngsters included in the United squad. Perhaps Van Gaal is keen to gain some momentum after those losses to Swansea City and PSV Eindhoven halted their early progress. The Dutchman will be fully aware what this competition can do for the confidence of the squad.
The big news for Ipswich is that Ryan Fraser misses out after battling an ankle problem recently. Kevin Bru does start in midfield for the visitors, while Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick lead the attack. Freddie Sears and Brett Pitman are both on the bench.
STAT: These two sides have met twice in the competition. United triumphed in 1971, while Ipswich claimed a 2-0 win in a 1997 tie. It is the first time the two clubs have met in a competitive fixture for over 13 years.
McCarthy knows Van Gaal very well. While in charge of Republic of Ireland, McCarthy guided his side to a famous win over Van Gaal's Netherlands to put them on course for a spot at the 2002 World Cup. Can he record another memorable win?
"I am not even sure I really remember it, [but] that was a great day for me and Ireland, we got in the playoffs and won that against Iran so ended up in the World Cup, which was brilliant," he told reporters.
Some clubs, supporters and managers might not mind exiting this competition early on, but Ander Herrera certainly has no doubt that United will benefit from playing as many matches as possible. Fixture congestion clearly is not a concern for the Spaniard.
"The Capital One Cup is a competition we can win and, if we are playing two or three times every week, it's very good for everyone. Everyone is involved, everyone has chances to play and everyone is fit. I can only see good things from this kind of competition," he told the club's website.
KEY PLAYER: If this is going to a be a routine win for United, they will need their key men to step up from the first whistle. Juan Mata will be important. Ipswich must find a way to stop him collecting the ball in space on the edge of the box. His clever passing could change the game in a second.
A quick reminder that you can follow three other League Cup games with Sports Mole tonight. Keep up to date with Spurs vs. Arsenal, Liverpool vs. Carlisle and Walsall vs. Chelsea by clicking on the fixture in the live scores box. Will we see any shocks tonight?
PREDICTION: United have made plenty of changes, but this is still a very strong side. Ipswich should be difficult to break down and they will certainly carry a threat with McGoldrick and Murphy. An early goal could be key for the home side. I can't see an upset. 3-0 to United.
The players are lined up in the tunnel at Old Trafford, so kickoff is just a few moments away. It is so important for Ipswich to start well this evening. They are a good side, but they must not invite too much pressure early on.
Decent start from United as they commit men forward from midfield and win a free kick, but at least one player is caught offside in the box when Mata sends the ball in.
Fellaini has been very close to Rooney in the early stages, which suggests that he will be the target man despite insisting that his best position was in midfield this week.
Plenty of credit to Ipswich, who have looked comfortable and shown good ambition on the ball. Oar does well to create space on the wing before pulling the ball back, but the lively McGoldrick is penalised for a foul.
United players and supporters are certain they should have a penalty when the ball appears to hit Coke's hand, but the referee is quick to shake his head. Better from the hosts after moving the ball quicker in the build up.
A second view has shown that Coke was probably quite lucky a couple of minutes ago. He certainly blocked Valencia's cross and the visitors can count themselves pretty lucky.
Ipswich are growing in confidence as the first half progresses. They look comfortable on the ball but are struggling to open up the home defence. Van Gaal must be frustrated with his side's final ball so far. Too many promising moves have been ended by poor decisions.
Great goalkeeping from De Gea as he displays his pace by sprinting off the line to intercept a long ball forward as Tabb looked to get clear of the United defence.
You may have heard just how good a defence Ipswich boast, and they really are showing off their qualities this evening. Yorwerth and Malarczyk look composed in the heart of defence, but every Ipswich player is working so well off the ball
Just as I take a moment to praise the Ipswich defence, United break the deadlock. Blind spots his captain's run and plays an inch-perfect ball over the top. Rooney does the rest as he shrugs off the challenge of Malarczyk before slotting past Bialkowski.
Remember United's opening goal against Liverpool? Well, they have just attempted to repeat it with a free kick but the ball back to Blind is poor and the Dutchman is prevented from getting a shot away.
Murphy has been kept on the fringes of the game, but he does well to win a corner. Yorwerth gets a run on his marker to meet the cross with a header which drifts over the crossbar. Better from the visitors.
The first goal was always going to be so important this evening. United are looking more relaxed on the ball now and the likes of Mata and Herrera are getting involved on a regular basis. There's still a long way to go though.
Pereira is so tricky and he threatens by collecting Fellaini's pass in the box, but Emmanuel does brilliantly in the box to time his challenge to perfection before clearing the danger.
It still isn't easy for the hosts. A couple of promising attacks are halted when good Ipswich pressure forces United to lose possession, which brings groans from the stands.
Young has looked dangerous when he gets the ball out wide, but his final delivery has been disappointing on too many occasions. United seeing plenty of the ball as the interval approaches. Oar then sends a long-range effort wide of the post.
This is a first half which certainly shows the strength of the Championship. Ipswich made 11 changes for this match, but they have been very impressive, especially defensively. However, it is United who lead thanks to Rooney, who took the best chance of the opening 45 minutes well.
Despite the resilience shown by Ipswich when United have the ball, you would have to say that the home side have been comfortable for much of the first half. If they score a second early in the second half, it will be a pretty routine end to the night for Van Gaal's side.
BENCH WATCH: United have the likes of Memphis Depay, Anthony Martial and Morgan Schneiderlin in reserve tonight, and they could all play a role in the second half. Ipswich may have to take risks later in the game. McCarthy could be tempted to call on Freddie Sears, whose eagerness to play on the shoulder of the last defender could allow Ipswich to threaten with the longer ball.
1 - Wayne Rooney has scored in the League Cup for the first time since netting in the 2010 final against Aston Villa. Overdue.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 23, 2015
Fellaini does a brilliant job in his own box as he clears the ball with a fine header after Herrera had gifted Ipswich a free kick. Decent start to the second half from the Tractor Boys.
CHANCE! Decent opportunity for the visitors as Coke delivers a high ball to the back post, but McGoldrick can only send the ball wide after winning the header.
CLOSE! Ipswich have started this second half brilliantly. McGoldrick turns into space before delivering a low cross, but Murphy and Tabb both fail to add the finishing touch on the stretch.
Ipswich are asking plenty of questions as they continue to push the hosts back. Tabb's effort is charged down before Oar fires over as United relieve some of the pressure.
SAVE! Valencia offers good support on the right and eventually receives the ball before unleashing a low effort which Bialkowski does well to keep out.
Stunning! On his first competitive start for the club, Pereira has produced a moment of brilliance to double his side's lead. He curls the ball over the wall to find the top corner with the free kick. Bialkowski was helpless. Can Ipswich respond?
Ipswich have players sprinting forward as they look to hit the hosts on the break, but Schweinsteiger steps in with a crucial interception. The German has done his job very impressively tonight.
SAVE! Superb from Bialkowski as he produces a fingertip save to send Mata's effort over after the Spaniard had evaded a couple of challenges. Mata has arguably been the best player on the pitch tonight.
SUBS! Mata's night comes to an end as Van Gaal brings on Anthony Martial. There's also a first appearance of the season for Phil Jones, who replaces Smalling.
United have taken the sting out of the game since that second goal. Schweinsteiger is dictating the tempo from a deep position as Ipswich struggle to produce a response.
Ipswich are throwing everything at the hosts, but they are tiring quickly and finding it difficult to break down the United defence. Blind has barely put a foot wrong this evening and he shows great awareness to block the run forward from Sears.
Good defending from Jones on his first appearance of the season as he steps in to dispossess Pitman just as the Ipswich striker was preparing to unleash an effort.
It's going pretty well for Anthony Martial, isn't it? The young Frenchman wraps up the win with his fourth goal in as many matches for the club as Memphis releases the forward, who shows his composure to slot past Bialkowski.
Manchester United are through to the fourth round of the League Cup. It was an impressive performance from Ipswich, but United's quality in the final third of the pitch has made the difference as goals from Rooney, Pereira and Martial hand them the victory.
That's all from our live text coverage tonight. Keep an eye out for analysis, ratings and reaction from this match later this evening. Thanks for joining me!
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