Sheffield United 1-0 Southampton: Saints crash out of League Cup.

Marc McNulty gave the League One side a famous victory over Ronald Koeman's men on Tuesday evening, a win that sees them progress to the semi-finals of the competition.

A second-half Marc McNulty goal gave Sheffield United a shock 1-0 win over 10-man Southampton in the League Cup on Tuesday evening.

The League One side looked lively right from the start and, after seeing numerous chances go begging in the first hour, netted the all-important winner through McNulty with 27 minutes to go at Bramall Lane.

VIEW FROM BRAMALL LANE

By Pete O'Rourke Nigel Clough's cup specialists are at again. They beat Southampton 1-0 at Bramall Lane to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup and it was no more than the League One side deserved. United were the better side throughout with Marc McNulty grabbing the all-important goal. Southampton were never at the races and worringly for Ronald Koeman this was their fifth defeat on the trot. United can look forward to the semi-final draw, but for Southampton they will need to recapture their form soon or it could be a lean festive period.

Southampton, who have now lost five matches in succession, saw their misery compounded by the late dismissal of Florin Gardos.

Forty-four places separate the two teams in the English football pyramid, but United looked more than a match for their opponents in the first half, with Jay McEveley and Florent Cuvelier both going close.

The visitors saw penalty appeals turned down early in the second period and United duly capitalised, McNulty making the most of unconvincing goalkeeping from the previously impressive Fraser Forster, who spilled a powerful free-kick from Bob Harris.

Southampton poured men forward after falling behind and forced Mark Howard into action through Sadio Mane with just over 20 minutes to go, while Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy each spurned opportunities to net a second on the break for United.

Those misses did not matter in the end as United, who knocked out another Premier League side in West Ham in round two, held firm in the face of intense pressure to secure a famous triumph.

Ronald Koeman once again resisted the urge to make wholesale changes to his team for a League Cup tie, while James Ward-Prowse was given his first start since September 20 after an injury lay-off.

However, even with Southampton naming a strong line-up, United kept the visitors under significant pressure.

And the underdogs went close to taking the lead after just three minutes, as Forster dropped a cross while seemingly being fouled by McEveley, who subsequently looped an effort over his own head and on to the top of the crossbar.

United caused Southampton problems again when centre-back Chris Basham produced a surging run up the right flank and, after linking well with Jamal Campbell-Ryce, crossed for Cuvelier, who sliced wide from eight yards.

But the opening half's best chance fell to the visitors just before the break, as Mane steered narrowly off target following Shane Long's left-wing delivery.

Both sides threatened at the start of the second half, as Southampton saw penalty claims rejected after Gardos' header appeared to strike a hand and Murphy inexplicably sliced wide at the other end.

United were well on top again by the 55th minute, with Forster first producing a fine save to keep out Che Adams' cross and then palming Michael Doyle's effort over the crossbar.

Yet the England international made a costly mistake in the 63rd minute when he failed to hold on to Harris' free-kick, enabling McNulty to tap in from a yard out.

The United goal seemingly woke Southampton up and they almost pulled level as Mane broke free and saw his effort well saved by Howard.

Koeman's men were given a let-off when Flynn could only fire straight at Forster when one-on-one, but one goal was to prove enough for United and Southampton's frustrating evening was summed up at the death as Gardos was given his marching orders for bringing down McNulty as he once again raced through.

Koeman slams 'disrespectful' Sheffield United after League Cup exit.

A second-half Marc McNulty strike gave the Blades a famous victory, but the Dutchman was disappointed with the behaviour of their backroom team.

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman slammed Sheffield United's coaching staff after his side's 1-0 defeat to the League One outfit, accusing them of showing a lack of respect.

Koeman's side travelled to Bramall Lane looking to secure a place in the League Cup semi-finals, but suffered a fifth successive defeat in all competitions.

Marc McNulty netted the game's only goal in the 63rd minute, pouncing on an abysmal mistake from Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

United assistant Chris Morgan was sent to the stands almost immediately after the goal as Koeman found himself in a verbal battle with the hosts' backroom team. And in response to what Koeman felt was disrespectful behaviour, the former Barcelona defender refused to shake the hand of opposing manager Nigel Clough at full-time.

He explained: "I shake hands with people who have respect for me as a coach, who have respect for the fourth referee [official].

"I think the behaviour of the bench of Sheffield United, I never saw that. That was the reason why I didn't shake hands."

To make matters worse for Koeman, Southampton will be without suspended trio Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Florin Gardos - who was sent off in the latter stages of the clash - as they look to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat when they host Everton on Saturday.

"It's difficult," acknowledged Koeman. "In my opinion that's one of the problems in the last few weeks – we have to change every time the team and with injuries with suspensions and, okay, suspensions is part of football and injuries is a part of football, but we have not a lot of midfielders available.

"We had to make choices. Schneiderlin played finally 90 minutes. Normally he wasn't allowed to play 90 minutes but we had to change and that was the problem and we knew that before the season.

"If we get these kind of problems in injuries and suspensions then it's difficult."

Fabregas: Chelsea can win the quadruple

The Spain international impressed in the Blues' comfortable 3-1 win over Derby in the League Cup quarter-finals and believes that near-unprecedented glory is on the cards.

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes that they can do the quadruple this season.

Goals from Eden Hazard, Filipe Luis and Andre Schurrle gave the Blues a comfortable 3-1 win over Derby County, sending them into the League Cup semi-finals.

The Blues are also top of the Premier League and have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain, while they will meet Watford in the FA Cup third round, and the Spaniard feels that the team are capable of seriously attempting a clean sweep of trophies in 2014-15.

"I'm enjoying playing in this team; we have a very strong squad and we want to go for everything," he told Sky Sports after their victory over Derby.

"We can get better, 100 per cent, and we know that. Everyone is really focused and professional but the next two or three weeks are very important.

"Time will tell [how good this season can be]. We definitely have the talent, the discipline and the courage to [win all four trophies], I'm sure of that from what I've seen so far in my short time here.

"I can see the team doing well but we will have to work hard and, at the end of the season, we will talk about it."

West Ham 3-1 Swansea City: Carroll & Sakho send Hammers into top four

Despite falling behind to Wilfried Bony, the hosts rallied through their impressive strikers, with the England man scoring twice before Swans keeper Lukasz Fabianski was sent off.

Inspired by two-goal Andy Carroll, West Ham came from behind to beat 10-man Swansea City 3-1 and move up to third in the Premier League.

Though the Hammers enjoyed the majority of possession throughout, Wilfried Bony punished them on the visitors' first attack of the game nearly 20 minutes in when he coolly finished a fine break, Jefferson Montero pulling back for the assist.

But Carroll got one back not long before the break when his fantastic looping header gave Lukasz Fabianski no chance.

The Swans were then undone in a flurry of action in the second half. First Carroll imperiously headed in a second when allowed space to attack a corner before Fabianski was sent off for rushing out to deny Diafra Sakho a goalscoring opportunity, despite the striker emerging from the challenge to hit the post.

Sakho later hit the post once again before finally getting on the scoresheet by driving through three defenders in the 87th minute and firing past a helpless Tremmel.

Match Stats — Team Stats

West Ham Unitedv.Swansea City

• Attack
• General Play
• Distribution
• Defence & Discipline

• Attack

  Goals

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  3	75%25%	1

  Total Shots

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  15	57.7%42.3%	11

  Shots On Target

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  7	77.8%22.2%	2

  Blocked Shots

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  5	50%50%	5

  Shots from outside the box

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  3	42.9%57.1%	4

  Shots from inside the box

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  12	63.2%36.8%	7

  Shot Accuracy (excluding blocked shots)

  West Ham United	Comparison	Swansea City
  70%	67.8%32.2%	33.3%

VIEW FROM UPTON PARK

By Harry Sherlock If this was the battle of Andy Carroll and Wilfried Bony then there was only one winner, with the England striker turning in a virtuoso performance at Upton Park. When he is on form there are few other strikers in the league who can do what he does as well as he does and Swansea City found that out to their cost as he scored twice and provided a brilliant assist late on. It would be unfair to simply praise Carroll, however, with Diafra Sakho, Alex Song and Stewart Downing also superb. Swansea, however, were blunt following Bony's opener, as they seemed content to simply sit on their 1-0 lead, and rarely tested Adrian in the second half. A West Ham fan passing the press box at full-time screamed 'We're going to win the league' and, while that may be far-fetched, there is a real belief bubbling in east London that the club can maintain their top-four tilt. If they carry on playing like this, they may just be booking the tickets for a European tour in 2015-16.

West Ham, with Alex Song and Enner Valencia back in for Morgan Amalfitano and Mauro Zarate, looked to push forward in the early stages and had a penalty appeal turned down when Carl Jenkinson's cross struck Jazz Richards on the elbow.

Fabianski saved well with his legs from Kevin Nolan, who failed to connect properly with an earlier chance, and the visitors made the most of those let-offs when scoring with their first real attack.

Montero played a neat one-two with Gylfi Sigurdsson before pulling back for Bony to produce a clinical side-footed finish after 19 minutes.

Ashley Williams bravely blocked a Valencia effort following a nod down from Carroll, while Sigurdsson tested Adrian with a stinging drive at the other end.

Bony was inches wide with a rasping strike from 20 yards out before West Ham enjoyed a period of sustained pressure which ended with Carroll spectacularly heading in a Jenkinson cross with four minutes of the half remaining.

The hosts began the second period by bringing on Sakho to replace Valencia, with the Senegalese striker returning from a month out with a back injury.

However, it was the Welsh side who had the first big chance after the break when Bony struck the bar from long range on the counterattack with an hour gone.

Angel Rangel had to be alert to clear a Sakho cross away from goal but it proved only a brief respite as Carroll rose highest to head in a Stewart Downing corner after 66 minutes.

Sakho then hit the post after latching onto a through-ball and rounding Fabianski, who was then sent off by Chris Foy for impeding the striker after the referee had initially played the advantage.

West Ham should have increased their lead when Sakho was left one-on-one with substitute keeper Gerhard Tremmel but he shot against the base of the post.

Sakho made amends for that miss, though, when Carroll headed on a long ball and he powered through to fire over Tremmel with three minutes remaining.

Carroll's hat-trick attempt was cleared off the line and Tremmel saved well from Sakho as West Ham finished with a flourish.

Aston Villa v Leicester City Preview: Pearson holds no fear despite winless run

The Foxes have not picked up three points since a 5-3 victory over Manchester United in September and face a Villans side buoyed by a 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace.

Nigel Pearson insists that he and his Leicester City side have no fear as they bid to end a nine-match Premier League winless run at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Not since September's exhilarating 5-3 victory over Manchester United have the Foxes clinched three points in England's top flight.

Leicester's lean spell has seen the pressure grow on manager Pearson - a situation not helped by his well-publicised spat with a supporter in Wednesday's 3-1 defeat at home to Liverpool.

The situation for the bottom side in the Premier League may look bleak but Pearson is adamant that fear of defeat will not come into play at Villa Park on Sunday.

"There's no point fearing anything, to be honest," he told reporters. "I would understand that there is a feeling of added pressure, when you're in a results business, you can't get away with it. But fear it? No, of course I don't. Fear would inhibit how you try to work."

Leicester's cause against Liverpool was not helped by a 63rd-minute red card for captain Wes Morgan when the scoreline was 2-1. The defender now misses the visit to Villa and Pearson confirmed that Liam Moore is likely to return at centre-back in his place.

Villa have endured struggles of their own in recent months but some of the gloom at the club was lifted by Tuesday's battling 1-0 win at Crystal Palace.

Paul Lambert's men had also gone nine matches without a victory before Christian Benteke returned from a three-match suspension to score the only goal of the game in the first half at Selhurst Park.

Benteke's strike was his first since March - the lean spell largely down to a torn Achilles sustained in April - and the Belgium international will be relishing coming up against a Leicester defence who have conceded 24 goals in 14 Premier League games.

Another man keen to hit the goal trail at Villa is Andreas Weimann, who has netted three times in the league in 2014-15.

"If you look at the games, I've not really played as a striker," he told Villa's official website. "In a lot of the games I've played as a winger or a midfielder so getting double figures is tough but I will try my best. I want to get as many as I can."

Lambert is unable to call on Joe Cole, who lasted just nine minutes against Palace before coming off with a hamstring injury, while Philippe Senderos, Ron Vlaar (both calf), Nathan Baker, Fabian Delph (both knee) and Libor Kozak (broken leg) are all unavailable.

Leicester have a doubt over David Nugent (illness), while Dean Hammond (calf) and Matthew Upson (foot) remain absent.

Last Five Matches

Aston Villa 

• W
• D
• D
• D
• L

• 12/2/14
  CRY

  0 - 1

  AST
• 11/29/14
  BUR

  1 - 1

  AST
• 11/24/14
  AST

  1 - 1

  SOT
• 11/8/14
  WHU

  0 - 0

  AST
• 11/2/14
  AST

  1 - 2

  TOT

Leicester City

• L
• L
• D
• L
• L

• 12/2/14
  LEI

  1 - 3

  LIV
• 11/29/14
  QPR

  3 - 2

  LEI
• 11/22/14
  LEI

  0 - 0

  SUN
• 11/8/14
  SOT

  2 - 0

  LEI
• 11/1/14
  LEI

  0 - 1

  WBA

Head To Head

Aston Villa

Leicester City

Wins

3

1

1

Wins

• 9/26/07
  Aston Villa
  0 - 1
  Leicester City
• 10/24/06
  Leicester City
  2 - 3
  Aston Villa
• 1/31/04
  Leicester City
  0 - 5
  Aston Villa
• 8/30/03
  Aston Villa
  3 - 1
  Leicester City
• 4/20/02
  Leicester City
  2 - 2
  Aston Villa

Betting & Predictions

Match Predictions

AST

0

0

LEI

Predict

Reader's Predictions

AST

Draw

LEI

52%

27%

21%

Top 3 Predictions

AST

0 - 0

LEI

AST

2 - 0

LEI

AST

2 - 1

LEI

Liverpool had no choice but to sign Balotelli, insists Rodgers

Currently sidelined with a groin injury, the Italian has scored just two goals in 14 appearances in all competitions and could face Football Association sanctions.

Brendan Rodgers insists Liverpool had no choice but to sign Mario Balotelli as the controversial Italian's struggles on Merseyside continue.

Liverpool splashed out €20 million to bring Balotelli from AC Milan in the summer as Rodgers re-modelled his attack in the wake of Luis Suarez's departure to Barcelona, but the 24-year-old's return to England has been frought with problems.

Just two goals in 14 matches in all competitions have been compounded with a groin injury and a Football Association charge for an Instagram post that allegedly contained anti-Semitic and racist references.

But Rodgers is adamant that the signing of Balotelli made sense at the time, given his undoubted ability and Liverpool's need for another frontman to provide an alternative to Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert.

"As as a club we felt that buying Mario was the solution at the time," the Liverpool boss told reporters.

"In the summer, we had Rickie Lambert. Fabio Borini looked 100 per cent that he was leaving, and obviously Daniel Sturridge has shown in his career so far that he gets injuries.

"To go into the season with no-one else would have been very difficult for us. It would have been unfair to leave Rickie Lambert, as a 32-year-old, as the only other striker that we had.

"I felt it was a risk we needed to take with Mario because, as a group, we couldn't afford not to at that time. It was obviously late on and we needed to have someone in.

"It's something that we can't regret now. I made it clear at the beginning it was a calculated risk - and that is why he probably cost the money he did."

How unlikely Soldado loan move to Real Madrid fell through

The striker has failed to fire for Tottenham but nearly moved to the Bernabeu this summer, while Manchester City are hoping to delay Yaya Toure's departure for Afcon 2015

HOW SOLDADO'S REAL MADRID LOAN MOVE FELL THROUGH

Roberto Soldado could have been playing for the European champions this weekend had events transpired differently over the summer.

The Tottenham striker came very close to a loan move to Real Madrid in the final days of the window as Carlo Ancelotti looked for a backup striker.

Soldado was desperate for the deal to go through but Madrid refused to meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's demands for a €8 million loan fee.

The transfer fell through on deadline day as the Spanish giants signed Javier Hernandez on loan from Manchester United instead.

Spurs were in any case reluctant to sell the €30m forward with no replacement lined up and only two other strikers at the club in Emmanuel Adebayor and Harry Kane.

Soldado, 29, has struggled badly in north London and scored his first Premier League goal since March in last week's 2-1 win over Everton.

But he retains an excellent reputation in Spain where he scored 30 goals in 46 matches in his final season at Valencia.

Soldado is not understood to be seeking a move in the upcoming January transfer window and both the player and Tottenham will wait until the summer before making a decision on his future.

- By Greg Stobart

MAN CITY TO DELAY YAYA TOURE AFCON DEPARTURE

Manchester City will speak with the Cote d'Ivoire FA this week about keeping Yaya Toure for an extra week before the Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament takes place between January 19 and February 15, and the Cote d'Ivoire squad are scheduled to meet up in Paris on January 2.

But the Premier League champions want to keep their midfielder for an additional week and have him available for the FA Cup 3rd round.

The Etihad side face Everton on January 10 and are hoping Cote d'Ivoire will be flexible in allowing the 31-year-old to stay with his club side.

- By Paul Clennam

EVANS IN LINE FOR MAN UTD RETURN

Jonny Evans is in contention for a return from injury in Manchester United's clash with Southampton on Monday.

Evans played the full 90 minutes for the United Under-21s against a Southampton side on Monday and suffered no ill effects.

The Northern Ireland international has been out of action for two months with an ankle injury and rode a couple of stiff challenges in the run-out.

The centre-back has been given the all-clear after coming through two further hour-long games in training this week.

- By Paul Clennam

NO EARLY LIVERPOOL MOVE FOR ORIGI

Liverpool are unlikely to attempt to bring forward Divock Origi's move to Anfield, Goal understands.

The Anfield side struck a deal to sign the Belgium international from Lille in the summer, with the striker returning to the Ligue 1 club for the 2014-15 season.

Liverpool have lost Daniel Sturridge to a long term injury, while Mario Balotelli has also been ruled out of action with a hamstring problem, leaving Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini as the club's only recognised front men.

But a source close to the deal told Goal it is unlikely that Origi will make an early move to Merseyside.

"It probably won't happen,” the source said. "It would not really be in the spirit of how the original deal was agreed."

The 19-year-old, who has stated he would be willing to move early to England – has scored three goals in nine starts so far this term for Lille.

Kompany in race against time to face Roma.

Manuel Pellegrini has ruled the Manchester City captain out of the next two league games, as he awaits the medical team's assessment of the Belgian's hamstring injury.

Manchester City could be without captain Vincent Kompany for their vital Champions League clash with Roma.

The Premier League champions came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Bayern Munich 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on matchday five, and must now win against the Serie A side away from home to progress to the knockout stages.

But Manuel Pellegrini has ruled the Belgian out of league games against Sunderland and Everton and is facing an anxious wait over the centre-back's fitness ahead of the must-win game in Rome on December 10.

"Vincent Kompany is not able to play against Sunderland or against Everton, that’s sure," Pellegrini said. “We’ll see if he arrives against Roma, but that will depend on the opinion of the doctor.

"It’s very difficult, because I cannot say without the opinion of the doctor how his injury will improve in the next days. It depends what degree of muscle injury he has.

"It’s very difficult to know in this moment if he can play in Rome."

Pellegrini has a decision to make on who to play in central defence against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.

With Eliaquim Mangala suspended, Bacary Sagna could deputise at centre-back alongside Martin Demichelis, while Dedryck Boyata is also a candidate for a start.