Newcastle United have been drawn to face Southampton in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, handing Eddie Howe’s Mags a huge chance of Wembley.
The Saints currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League, but pulled off a big shock in tonight’s quarter-final by beating the favourites Man City 2-0.
The first leg – at St Mary’s – will take place the week commencing January 23, while the second leg – at St James’ Park – will be scheduled for the week commencing January 30. With City out and the second leg set to be under the lights on Tyneside, it really has been a near perfect 24 hours for Eddie Howe.
Elsewhere, Manchester United will face Nottingham Forest in the other semi-final, with the latter beating Wolves on penalties in tonight’s other quarter-final.
The good news for Newcastle is that the next round of FA Cup fixtures will be played over January 28/29 – the weekend between the two legs – meaning we’ll be given a welcome rest following Saturday’s defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
As for Southampton, they will play over the weekend in between our semi-final tie, facing Blackpool at St Mary’s after a win at Crystal Palace last weekend sent them through.
