The Premier League is going to take a break. Cup competitions are on the cards

The match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers (0::1) symbolically drew the curtain on the Premier League for seven days. The FA Cup and the EFL Cup, two cup competitions, now take centre stage. What interesting battles await English football fans?

The semi-final battles

The English League Cup knows its last four participants. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are all through to the semi-finals. So we are sure to see at least one London club in the final.

The first semi-final match is Chelsea vs Spurs on 12 January, a day later Arsenal will face Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. The following week, the rematches are scheduled to decide the finalists at Wembley.

Football midgets against the giants

Qualification for the oldest club competition is now a thing of the past. Clubs from the lower competitions (the FA Cup brings together teams from the top ten league levels) have a unique chance to take on famous rivals. Often we can even see a surprise elimination of the favourite. This is the magic of the FA Cup.

The third round draw offers several “David and Goliath” duels. Swindon Town (League Two) host Manchester City, the Reds welcome third-tier Shrewbury Town to Anfield Road, Arsenal travel to Nottingham to face Forrest (Championship) and Chelsea take on fifth-tier Chesterfield.

The third round of The Emirates FA Cup, which runs from January 7-10, will also pit Premier League clubs against each other. Leicester will welcome Watford, David Moyes will face Marcel Bielsa and Villans will battle it out at Old Trafford to reach the next round.

source: The FA, Livesport