Four teams are just one step from a showpiece Wembley final as the 2013/14 Capital One Cup reaches the semi-final stages and both legs from each tie will screened exclusively live on Sky Sports.
Sunderland, Manchester United, Manchester City and West Ham will take time out from their Premier League campaigns to try and book a spot in next month’s final, which will take place at the hallowed home of English football in March.
The first legs of the semi-final encounters will be held on January 7 and 8, with the return fixtures commencing on January 21 and 22.
Many pundits and fans will be expecting the neighbours and two Manchester footballing heavyweights to progress to the final on March 2.
David Moyes’ Red Devils and Manuel Pellegrini’s Blues have started stringing league results together and are in the hunt for the Premier League title, as well as through to the last 16 phase of the Champions League alongside compatriots Chelsea and Arsenal.
United and City, who have won the League Cup on a combined six occasions, will therefore fancy their chances of besting relegation-threatened Sunderland and West Ham, but the underdogs will have other ideas.
Gus Poyet’s Mackems proved they could mix it with the big boys when they overcame Chelsea in the quarter-finals, while Sam Allardyce’s Irons did the same to send Tim Sherwood’s Tottenham packing.
To see if any of the Premier League strugglers head to the home of English football or if a Manchester derby is set for the Capital One Cup final, tune into Sky Sports for all the action live or by watching BBC Sport’s highlights show.
Sky Sports will screen both legs of the two semi-final ties exclusively live as a place in the first major final of the season goes up for grabs.
Ben Shephard will present live coverage of all four games during January, all in high-definition, with analysis and commentary from Jamie Redknapp, Alan Smith, Rob Hawthorne and Alan Parry.
BBC Sport will broadcast free-to-air highlights of the first and second leg ties on Wednesday evenings in ‘The League Cup Show’ during both match weeks at 11.05pm on BBC One, presented by Manish Bhasin.
Both programmes will be available to watch online via the BBC Sport website and on-demand via BBC iPlayer.
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FIRST LEGS
Tuesday 7th January SUNDERLAND v MANCHESTER UNITED Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 Wednesday 8th January MANCHESTER CITY v WEST HAM UNITED Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 The League Cup Show Highlights: 11.05pm-11.50pm BBC One .SECOND LEGS
Tuesday 22nd January WEST HAM UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 Wednesday 23rd January MANCHESTER UNITED v SUNDERLAND Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 The League Cup Show Highlights: 11.05pm-11.55pm BBC One.
