United end long wait for Charlton reunion
Manchester United will meet Charlton Athletic tonight for the 60th time in our history.
It is the first time the teams have clashed since February 2007, with the south Londoners currently in League One, but enjoying a great run in the competition after beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties in the previous round.
United have been dominant against the Addicks, winning the last 10 matches against them and 12 of the last 13 meetings.
It is a far cry from the first two games with Charlton, way back in 1932, as we lost both outings in the space of three days.
There have been plenty of memorable moments since then, though, including Sir Bobby Charlton making his debut against his namesakes, a precious late winner by Dwight Yorke at The Valley in the Treble-winning season and goals aplenty for strikers such as Ruud van Nistelrooy (eight in total, including one sensational spin and volley) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (seven, the last of which was an emotional one for him down in the capital after a lengthy battle with injury).
In terms of cup football, the two times we've played in the Emirates FA Cup, we've gone on to lift the trophy. There was a 2-0 home win in 1948 and an entertaining 3-1 victory in 1994, when Peter Schmeichel was sent off for handball.
Our only previous League Cup match-up was a 5-1 victory in 1974 at Old Trafford, with Lou Macari scoring two of the goals.
The Reds have now been drawn at home for the seventh time in succession in domestic competition and, if we progress, the semi-finals are over two legs so there would be another Old Trafford encounter in the bid to reach Wembley.
Two of these have been in the FA Cup (Aston Villa and Middlesbrough) and five in the Carabao Cup (Manchester City, West Ham United, Villa, Burnley and now Charlton).
It is a reversal of the situation a couple of years ago when we were drawn away in each of the 2020 FA Cup rounds, before being beaten by Chelsea at Wembley at the last-four stage, while, later that year, we had three successive ties on the road in the Carabao Cup.
The game, which will take place in the week commencing 9 January, forms part of a crowded schedule for Erik ten Hag's men as 2023 gets under way.