2 days Ago By Jack Cunningham
Manchester United start their Carabao Cup campaign this week against Barnsley at home, and it's live on talkSPORT 2. The Red Devils lifted the trophy in the 2022/23 season by beating Newcastle 2-0 at Wembley but made a miserable defence of their crown last year. Erik ten Hag 's men crashed out in the fourth round to the Magpies, who exacted their revenge with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils did recover to taste separate domestic success last year in the FA Cup to ensure their Dutch manager has won a trophy in each of his seasons in Manchester. However, another disappointing start to their league campaign has put Ten Hag under pressure to build momentum here. Barnsley are currently seventh in League One, just outside of the play-offs after a 3-0 defeat at the weekend to Stevenage.
But that was their first loss since the opening game of the season, and Darrell Clarke's side will make the short journey to Manchester knowing they can pull off a shock. This Carabao Cup third-round clash is set to take place on Tuesday, September 17. talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage from Old Trafford, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm.
Ian Danter and Micky Gray will provide commentary, while talkSPORT.com will also have all the reaction. To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app , on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM. The Red Devils still have plenty of injury concerns as Leny Yoro, Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia are definitely out. Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund are closing in on full fitness, but this one might be a bit too soon for them.
Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez hobbled off at the weekend and should be rested. But Manuel Ugarte might make his first start since joining from Paris Saint-Germain after making his debut in the 3-0 win over Southampton. Marcus Rashford scored his first goal since March on Saturday and may have another opportunity to keep rebuilding his confidence.
The Tykes will be without Donovan Pines after suffering concussion at the weekend. Meanwhile, manager Clarke has revealed he might shuffle his squad around. Tykes boss Clarke has insisted his side must be perfect to get a result.
He said: "We want to go there and give a good account of ourselves and I just want to thank the fans. "Tickets for the match are very expensive and I'd like to thank the fans for the amount of tickets we've sold and getting behind the boys. Hopefully, we can turn it into a night where we do the town and the club justice.
"I'm a realist, we have to be 10 out of 10 on performances and they have to have an off-day. The gulf is massive, we're under no illusions about that. "But we'll prepare and plan professionally as we always do, freshen the team up a bit because we have another game on Saturday.
"It might be an opportunity for one or two lads to come in and stake a claim. "It'll be a proud moment for a council estate lad from Mansfield to lead a team out against the team he supported as a young lad, but I want more proud moments in my career, I want to be managing at the highest levels possible and doing well for Barnsley.".
