Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have been kept apart in the Carling Cup semi-finals after the draw was made on Saturday lunchtime.

Tottenham v Burnley
Championship side Burnley will have to claim the scalp of their third Premier League opponents from London if they are to reach the final, after being drawn to face holders Tottenham. Owen Coyle's side have already knocked Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal out of the competition and must now travel to White Hart Lane to face Spurs in the first leg on the week commencing January 5.

Derby County v Manchester United
In the other semi-final Derby County, who eliminated Stoke with a last-minute penalty in the last round, will have to complete some giant-killing of their own if they are to reach the final. The Rams host Manchester United in the first leg. The second legs are to be played on the week commencing January 19.

Schedules;

First Leg - 5 January 2009
Tottenham v Burnley
Derby County v Manchester United

Second Leg - 19 January 2009
Burnley v Tottenham
Manchester United v Derby County

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Three Barclays Premier League clubs were in action in Wednesday night's Carling Cup quarter-final matches. United rested several big names but were too good for Rovers at Old Trafford, with Argentine striker Tevez running the show in a 5-3 victory in the only all-Premier League clash of the quarter-finals.

Tevez opened the scoring before setting up United's second with five minutes remaining in the first-half. He bundled home Ryan Giggs' far-post corner nine minutes from the break, then provided the pass that allowed Nani to grab number two shortly afterwards. Blackburn threatened to make a comeback when Benni McCarthy scored just three minutes after the break, but the likelyhood of Paul Ince getting one over on his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to have been snuffed out by Tevez, who scored two quick-fire goals soon after.

Matt Derbyshire pulled one back for the visitors on 84 minutes, and McCarthy netted his second of the match in the second minute of injury time. Tevez scored his fourth of the match with seconds to spare to book United's place in the semi-finals.

See full highlight;

Meanwhile, holders Tottenham, who beat Chelsea in the final last season, fell behind against Championship (second division) side Watford, but hit back to win 2-1 at Vicarage Road.

Tamas Priskin opened the scoring for the home side, with Aaron Lennon guilty of losing the ball in the build-up. Roman Pavlyuchenko's penalty on the stroke of half-time levelled for the visitors, before Darren Bent's goal mid-way through the second-half gave the Barclays Premier League side the advantage.

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Full results;

Burnley 2 - 0 Arsenal
Stoke City 0 - 1 Derby County
.......
Watford 1 - 2 Tottenham
Manchester United 5 - 3 Blackburn

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Arsenal FC lost 2-0 away to Burnley FC to crash out of the English League Cup at the quarter-final stage.

Arsène Wenger's team went the same way as Chelsea FC in the previous round – beaten on penalties by Burnley – succumbing to goals early in each half from Kevin McDonald. The 20-year-old Scottish midfielder struck first after six minutes at Turf Moor, turning in the loose ball after Arsenal goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, under pressure, could only parry a low Chris Eagles cross into his path. McDonald's second came 12 minutes after the interval, when he outmuscled and outpaced Mark Randall to run on to a throw-in, break into the Arsenal area and clip the ball around Fabiański.

In between times, Danish goalkeeper Brian Jensen was an equally influential figure for the side from the Championship, or second tier of English football. Manager Owen Coyle's promotion chasers were grateful for a series of saves by Jensen from Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Randall. Fran Mérida went closest for a visiting team showing eleven changes from the starting lineup in Sunday's 2-1 Premier League victory at Chelsea. Burnley were joined in the semi-finals by Derby County FC who also knocked out top-flight opposition, winning 1-0 at Stoke City FC thanks to a Nathan Ellington penalty deep into stoppage time. The Championship side hit the woodwork twice in the second period, before surviving a scare when goalkeeper Roy Carroll kept out Ricardo Fuller. The quarter-final ties continue on Wednesday, with holders Tottenham Hotspur FC visiting Watford FC, and Manchester United FC hosting Blackburn Rovers FC. EUFA

Other results;

Burnley 2 - 0 Arsenal
Stoke City 0 - 1 Derby County
.......
Watford ? - ? Tottenham
Manchester United ? - ? Blackburn R.

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Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley (Burnley won penalty shootout 4-5)

Premier League leaders Chelsea slumped out of the League Cup to Championship (second division) Burnley on Wednesday, beaten 5-4 on penalties after the fourth round tie ended 1-1 at Stamford Bridge after extra time.

Chelsea, winners of the competition in 2006/07 and runners-up last season to Tottenham, appeared to be on the way to a routine victory when fit-again Didier Drogba gave them the lead after 27 minutes after a great pass from Frank Lampard. It was the Côte d'Ivoire striker's first goal for the club since his brace in the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Liverpool in April, although he has missed a chunk of this campaign with a knee injury.

Burnley, who are pushing for promotion in the Championship, battled back after the break and took the match into extra time when Ade Akinbiyi levelled with around 20 minutes remaining. The visitors had Steven Caldwell sent off near the end of extra time, but held their nerve to win on penalties when John Obi Mikel's penalty was saved by Brian Jensen, who had also stopped one from Wayne Bridge

Tottenham 4 - 2 Liverpool

Holders Tottenham Hotspur reached the quarter-finals with a 4-2 defeat of a below-strength Liverpool at White Hart Lane, with two goals apiece for Roman Pavlyuchenko and Fraizer Campbell.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez made ten changes from the side that started in the Premier League against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, although he did start with Spain striker Fernando Torres for the first time in more than a month. A dull first half burst into life in the seven minutes before the interval, when Tottenham scored three times to virtually seal victory.

Tottenham had won four games and drawn one since Redknapp took over last month and added another victory tonight eleven days after a 2-1 Premier League home defeat of Liverpool. The key was a three-goal burst in six minutes late in the first half with Roman Pavlyuchenko's strike followed by two from Frazier Campbell. Damien Plessis headed Liverpool back into the game just after the break only for Pavlyuchenko to swiftly score again. Sami Hyypiä made reduced arrears but although Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was injured his team held on. FIFA

"In the second half we were a little better, in commitment and in our quality, but after the first half it was impossible," Benitez told reporters.

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Full results;

Arsenal 3-0 Wigan Athletic
Derby County 2-1 Leeds United
Manchester United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Stoke City 2-0 Rotherham United
Swansea City 0-1 Watford
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Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley* (4-5 penalty)
Sunderland 1 - 2 Blackburn
Tottenham 4 - 2 Liverpool

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Manchester United 1 - 0 Queen Park Rangers

Carlos Tevez's 76th-minute spot-kick proved enough to steer Manchester United into the Carling Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford.

Although no-one could claim QPR deserved anything from a contest in which they were second-best from start to finish, they almost took the tie into extra-time as United failed to make the most of their dominance. In the end, Peter Ramage's rash tackle on substitute Daniel Welbeck was all United needed as Tevez coolly stroked home the resulting penalty.

See the highlight (Tevez's penalty)

Arsenal 3 - 0 Wigan

Arsene Wenger's young guns sent the Latics crashing out of the Carling Cup with another stunning performance at the Emirates Stadium.

Two goals from Jay Simpson, on his first start for the club, and a third from Mexican starlet Carlos Vela put the Gunners into the fifth round. Steve Bruce's side were never in the match and but for a fabulous display from goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, Wigan would have lost by a much greater scoreline. EUFA

Current Results;

Arsenal 3-0 Wigan Athletic
Derby County 2-1 Leeds United
Manchester United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Stoke City 2-0 Rotherham United
Swansea City 0-1 Watford
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Chelsea ? - ? Burnley
Sunderland ? - ? Blackburn
Tottenham ? - ? Liverpool

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