One of the most bewildering streaks in modern football has ended at last: Manchester United have been drawn away from home in a domestic cup match.
As part of the draw for the 2023/24 EFL Cup fourth round, Manchester United were handed a difficult home matchup against Newcastle United. Incredibly, this marked the 12th consecutive home draw for Man United in a domestic cup knockout fixture.
Across the FA Cup and EFL Cup (known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons), when a draw is required to set the schedule, United have been afforded a match at Old Trafford for every fixture across each of the last three seasons… until now. December 3 saw them given an away match against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round, which will take place on January 8.
It was a quite incredible run of fortune given draws in these competitions are carried out at random. Here’s a look back at those 12 consecutive home cup ties, and the last time the Red Devils were drawn away from their famous old ground.
MORE: FA Cup third round: The full draw as Premier League teams enter competition
Man United domestic cup home draw streak
Manchester United were handed 12 consecutive home draws in the EFL Cup and FA Cup until the streak was ended in December 2023, when they were given an away match against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round.
Given that each event features a 50/50 chance of receiving a home or away draw, the chances of receiving 12 straight home draws are approximately 1 in 4,096, just like it would be of flipping a coin and obtaining the same result 12 straight times.
Remember, the semifinals of the EFL Cup require a two-legged matchup to determine a winner, meaning Manchester United did play a road match at Nottingham Forest en route to their 2022/23 title. Yet that fixture does not count as a draw was not necessary to set the venue of the match since a home-and-home format was already determined.
In addition, the EFL Cup final and both the FA Cup semifinal and final are all played at Wembley Stadium, which do not count as part of this streak.
Date Competition Opponent Result Sep. 22, 2021 2021/22 EFL Cup
3rd Round West Ham L 1-0 Jan. 10, 2022 2021/22 FA Cup
3rd Round Aston Villa W 1-0 Feb. 4, 2022 2021/22 FA Cup
4th Round Middlesbrough D 1-1
(L 9-8 on pens) Nov. 10, 2022 2022/23 EFL Cup
3rd Round Aston Villa W 4-2 Dec. 21, 2022 2022/23 EFL Cup
4th Round Burnley W 2-0 Jan. 6, 2023 2022/23 FA Cup
3rd Round Everton W 3-1 Jan. 10, 2023 2022/23 EFL Cup
Quarterfinals Charlton W 3-0 Jan. 28, 2023 2022/23 FA Cup
4th Round Reading W 3-1 Mar. 1, 2023 2022/23 FA Cup
5th Round West Ham W 3-1 Mar. 19, 2023 2022/23 FA Cup
Quarterfinals Fulham W 3-1 Sep. 26, 2023 2023/24 EFL Cup
3rd Round Crystal Palace W 3-0 Oct. 31, 2023 2023/24 EFL Cup
4th Round Newcastle L 0-3
Last time Man United drew an away fixture in domestic cup
Man United’s most recent away cup draw was in the FA Cup third round against Wigan Athletic. That game will take place on January 8, 2023.
Before then, the last time United were drawn to face an opponent on the road in either the EFL Cup or FA Cup was on March 21, 2021 against Leicester City in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
United lost that match 3-1, eliminating them from the competition, while Leicester City would go on to lift the trophy later that year.
The lone goal for Manchester United in that match was from Mason Greenwood, assisted by Paul Pogba.