Tottenham vs Manchester United

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

The four quarter-finals will be played in the week commencing December 16th.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot insisted Cody Gakpo was an integral part of his Premier League plans after the striker's impressive brace put the Carabao Cup holders on their way to the quarter-finals.

Gakpo showed his talent in time on Wednesday night with two powerful finishes before Luis Diaz secured the Reds' 3-2 fourth-round win at Brighton.

The Netherlands international has been a supporting figure at Anfield since Slot replaced Jürgen Klopp in the summer, starting just two of nine games in the top flight.

Slot, who made eight changes for the game at the Amex Stadium, was impressed by the impact of his squad players, including his fellow Dutchman.

The scream of relief was everything. Tottenham couldn't afford to miss this chance, but Ange Postecoglou's side held firm and knocked Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup, handing Pep Guardiola's side their first defeat of the season. Tottenham's ability to self-destruct ensured it was still an exciting cup game, even if City were chasing the game in second gear. It was almost enough, and although Bernardo Silva's protests in the closing stages suggested City wanted to win as much as Spurs, the sight of Erling Haaland grinning on the bench, unused as a substitute, gave City away over 90 minutes was behind, a different story.

But while United have made Amorim their main takeover target and are ready to trigger his release clause at Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese has a 30-day release clause and United are in negotiations to move the 39-year-old to Old Trafford earlier and try to take his coaching team of Daniel Fernandes and Adelio Candido with him.

And the defending champions face weakening Southampton in the last quarter-finals.

Quite an interesting tie.

A short drive across the river to Crystal Palace.

Ange Postecoglou against Ruben Amorim?

The Premier League's first round of 16 in 15 years – here we go…

The draw won't take long. In what has been a pretty dismal season for Southampton so far, Russell Martin would certainly be happy with a winnable draw – be it against a smaller side or one of the bigger teams with a particularly diabolical December in terms of game count.

Chelsea's defeat means we have avoided a nightmare scenario that would have seen Enzo Maresca's side compete in the Conference League and Carabao Cup in the same midweek.