EFL Cup quarter-final draw: Manchester United draw Bristol City as Arsenal play West Ham

The draw was delayed for nearly two hours before being tweeted out in a pre-recorded video

Jack Austin
Thursday 26 October 2017 18:49 BST
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Bristol City thumped Crystal Palace in the fourth round
Bristol City thumped Crystal Palace in the fourth round (Getty)

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Bristol City will welcome Manchester United to Aston Gate in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup after a much-delayed draw culminated in a pre-recorded video being released instead of the intended live one.

In the latest blunder of the Carabao Cup draw, A Question of Sport pair Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell were due to pick the teams out of the hat while streamed live on Twitter.

However it wasn’t until 110 minutes after the draw was due to take place that the quarter-final line-up was eventually released, this time abandoning the live stream due to Twitter UK’s “technical difficulties” in favour of an eight-minute pre-recorded video.

A Twitter spokesman said: "We're sorry for the issues that led to the delay of today's Round Five draw. We would also like to apologise to the thousands of supporters who had been patiently awaiting news of who their team would be playing.”

When the draw was eventually revealed, the four remaining members of the ‘Big Six’ still in the Cup all managed to avoid each other, with United getting the only non-Premier League side in Bristol City of the Championship.

Manchester City are also away from home after being drawn to play Leicester while Chelsea will welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal and London rivals West Ham face off at the Emirates in the last quarter-final tie after the Hammers’ remarkable 3-2 comeback against Tottenham on Wednesday night.

It not the first time the Carabao Cup draw has been heavily criticised after a series of embarrassing mistakes and odd PR moves have blighted the competition.

The first-round draw took place live in Bangkok and was broadcast of Facebook without any sound before it crashed after only one team was drawn.

Charlton Athletic were also drawn twice, against first Exeter City, and then Cheltenham Town.

In the second round, the addition of another pot of balls to determine the home and away legs left everyone, including draw-maker John Salako, very confused.

The third round was broadcast at 4.15am UK time on a Thursday morning to give maximum exposure to the Asian market before the shambles of Thursday afternoon-cum-evening ensued.

EFL Cup fifth-round draw:

Chelsea vs Bournemouth

Arsenal vs West Ham United

Leicester City vs Manchester City

Bristol City vs Manchester United

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