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Confirmed: Who United face first in the Carabao Cup

Manchester United's Carabao Cup campaign for 2020/21 will begin away to Luton Town, in a third-round tie to be played next week.

While the exact date and kick-off time are still to be confirmed, the Reds now know the opposition and the venue after the Hatters beat Reading 1-0 away at Madejski Stadium this evening. The two Championship clubs knew they would contest the right to host United when the draw for the second and third round was made on 6 September. 

Luton Town were also at home in the first round, winning 3-1 against Norwich City - one of the sides relegated from the Premier League last season. All four goals in that game were scored in the final 11 minutes plus injury time.

Next week's Carabao Cup tie, which falls between our league games against Crystal Palace at home and Brighton away, will be our first encounter with Luton since April 1992. The Reds, who had hammered the Hatters 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign, were held 1-1 at Kenilworth Road and it proved to be a costly result in our race with Leeds United to win the final Division One title race.

Luton are managed by Nathan Jones, who is in his second spell with the Bedfordshire club after a short-lived switch to Stoke City, and have a United Academy graduate in their ranks. Ryan Tunnicliffe played in the same FA Youth Cup-winning side as Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard in 2011 and won the club's Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award at the end of that season.

After making two first-team appearances for the Reds, both in the League Cup, Tunnicliffe joined Fulham in the January 2014 transfer window. The Hatters signed the midfielder from Millwall in the summer of 2019.

The other Carabao Cup third-round ties confirmed so far include an all-Premier League affair between Leicester City and Arsenal.

The new season is here! Our 2020/21 home, away and third kits are available now from United Direct.

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