As has been the case over the past few seasons, teams competing in Europe enter at the third round stage.

Leeds advanced to this stage of the competition following a luck-filled penalty shoot-out win over lowly Swindon Town. The west country side, who spent part of the game reduced to only 10-men, were two goals to the good with only minutes left of normal time. The game was to have a dramatic turn-around though, as Ian Harte and 'keeper Paul Robinson scored late for the home side, and the game eventually went to penalties, with Leeds winning 4-3.

United will be desperate to go one better in this competition than last season, when we lost out in a bitterly disappointing final 2-0 to Liverpool. The holders take on Blackburn Rovers away at this stage in one of the other ties of the round.

The London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United also catches the eye, with cash-strapped Notts County delighted with a money-spinning tie at Stamford Bridge against big spenders Chelsea.

The ties are to be played on the week commencing October 27th, and the clash between United and their Yorkshire enemies is almost certain to be televised. The days when Sir Alex Ferguson took this Cup lightly would appear well and truly over, and lets hope for another cup run this campaign!

The complete draw is as follows:

Bristol City v Southampton
Everton v Charlton
Nottm Forest v Portsmouth
Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool
Bolton v Gillingham
Wigan v Middlesbrough
Wolves v Burnley
Blackpool v Crystal Palace
Chelsea v Notts County
QPR v Manchester City
Reading v Huddersfield
Aston Villa v Leicester
Tottenham v West Ham
Arsenal v Rotherham
Newcastle v West Brom
Leeds v Manchester United

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