Man Utd v Tottenham preview

Ferguson and Redknapp go head-to-head

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Watch Man Utd vs Tottenham battle it out for a place in the Carling Cup semi-final Live on Sky Sports 2 and HD 2 from 7.30pm.

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Manchester United take on Tottenham in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup at Old Trafford in a re-run of last year's final.

Last February the Red Devils managed to overcome Spurs 4-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes at Wembley, with Ben Foster the hero.

United have continued to field their youngsters in this year's competition and manager Sir Alex Ferguson is set to stand by his young guns despite recent criticism from certain sections of the media.

The Scot leapt to the defence of his second string after United surrendered their four-year unbeaten European record on home soil after a 1-0 defeat to Besiktas last week, with the likes of Gabriel Obertan, Rafael Da Silva, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda all featuring.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has already admitted he will field a strong line-up at the Theatre of Dreams and the North Londoners must be quietly confident they can seal a place in the last four.

Tottenham certainly go into the match high on confidence after their 9-1 trouncing of Wigan was followed by another positive performance at Aston Villa on Saturday, despite having to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Man Utd news

Rio Ferdinand remains sidelined with a back injury and is not expected to be back before the Christmas run-in.

Fellow defenders John O'Shea (thigh) and Jonny Evans (calf) are still doubtful having missed the last three games.

Owen Hargreaves (knees) will again miss out but the midfielder is said to be making good progress in training after more than a year out.

Darron Gibson should be recalled alongside Welbeck, Macheda, Rafael and Obertan while Nani could also be handed his first start in four matches.

Ferguson looks likely to blend youth with experience as Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov, just back from injury, stand good chances of featuring.

Spurs news

Captain Ledley King will miss out with the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for the last two games while fellow centre-half Jonathan Woodgate (groin) will also be absent.

The news means that Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong, who started together at Villa, will continue at the heart of Spurs' defence.

Midfielder Luka Modric has still not recovered from a fractured fibula while goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini is out for the foreseeable future after injuring his wrists and pelvis in a motor cycling accident recently.

Redknapp admits that he will look to change things around a little with striker Robbie Keane already one definite to start. The likes of Alan Hutton, Gareth Bale and Jermaine Jenas, all of whom have failed to enjoy a huge amount of football this term, will be hoping to join him.