Moyes heartened by United's reaction

Manchester United manager David Moyes spoke of how he felt encouraged after seeing his side bounce back from their derby drubbing by Manchester City to knock Liverpool out of the League Cup.

Sunday's abject 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium left United five points off the pace in the Premier League, but they showed signs of life in a 1-0 win over age-old rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

"What was important was that the whole club showed that we were hurt by the game on Sunday," said Moyes, after a victory that set up a fourth-round tie with Norwich City.

"We didn't perform to our levels. And they've gone out and the players have done a great job to get us a big result, so I'm really pleased with them.

"We know we have to improve. I'm getting to know them. They're a really good team; they won the Premiership last year. But we need to make sure that we're looking to improve as well."

Javier Hernandez scored the game's only goal, stealing away from Jose Enrique to convert a Wayne Rooney corner from close range in the 46th minute of an engaging and open-ended cup tie.

Paradoxically, despite United having made their worst start to a league campaign in nine years, the win over Liverpool meant that Moyes has made the best start as a United manager since the great Matt Busby in 1946.

He poured scorn on the statistic, but admitted he was eager to see more positive headlines about the early days of his United tenure.

"Somebody told me that before the game. That's the way it is," said the Scot, who also revealed that Tom Cleverley had sustained an unspecified injury in training.

"Everybody at the moment seems to be picking a stat out – you know, I've not won here or I've done this or I've not done that. Obviously that's one of the good ones, because I've not had that many good ones."

Hernandez's goal eclipsed the return of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who was making his comeback after serving a 10-game suspension for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in a league match in April.

The Uruguayan played for the full 90 minutes and almost claimed an equaliser with 18 minutes to play, only for his free-kick to flick off the United wall and crash against the crossbar.

"Considering he's been out for such a long time, he ran himself into the ground and you could see he was always a threat," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

"He put defenders on the back foot, he had a couple of wee twists and turns. And obviously as he goes on he'll get a wee bit sharper, but overall he can be really pleased and I was really happy for him."

Rodgers was also heartened by the warm reaction that Suarez received from the club's travelling fans, despite his attempts to engineer a move away from Anfield during the close season.

"You heard them at the beginning. The support that they have given him is unheralded, really," he told reporters.

"They were brilliant towards him and he's given them everything. He had a clap to the crowd before the match started, so he recognises everything they've given him.

"Now he's just got to get his head down and give them that great talent that he has."

Liverpool conceded top spot in the Premier League after losing at home to Southampton on Saturday, but with no other distractions on their agenda, Rodgers has promised an all-out assault on the league.

"Now we can only concentrate on the league through to Christmas, so we have to make sure that we stay up in that top six in the league, keep fighting, and hopefully we can reinforce again in January," he said.

Wenger to tinker for Chelsea visit

Arsenal, who suffered a humiliating Capital One (League) Cup quarterfinal defeat by fourth tier Bradford City last season, will again rotate their squad when Chelsea visit the Emirates in the last-16 on Tuesday.

Manager Arsene Wenger has used the competition in recent years to blood youngsters and field fringe players and did so when a second-string side edged out West Bromwich Albion in a penalty shootout in the third round.

"I will rotate against Chelsea but play with a team that has a good chance to qualify as well. That will be the target," Wenger told the club's website (www.arsenal.com).

Arsenal have not won the trophy since 1993 when they beat Sheffield Wednesday. They lost to Chelsea in the 2007 final and to Birmingham City at the same stage four years later.

Adding spice to the tie is the Premier League positions of the two clubs, with Arsenal two points clear of their London rivals at the top of the table.

Wenger's team have a tough sequence of games coming up that will test their credentials as title contenders.

Arsenal host third-placed Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday and then, after travelling to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.

FLYING AGAIN

"You worry about fatigue a little bit but not too much. Sometimes when you play every three days you look tired and then in three days you are flying again. It goes a bit in cycles," Wenger said.

There are four other all-Premier League clashes.

Manchester United, who came back from 2-1 down to beat Stoke City 3-2 on Saturday, should prove too strong for struggling Norwich City at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Newcastle United entertain Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur host Hull City again, three days after a 1-0 league victory for the Londoners at White Hart Lane.

Southampton also travel to Sunderland on November 6.

Championship leaders Burnley will fancy their chances of causing an upset when they host West Ham United on Tuesday.

Burnley, who spent one season in the Premier League in 2009-10, have won eight and drawn one of their last nine league games and manager Sean Dyche said Saturday's home victory over promotion rivals Queens Park Rangers was their best performance so far.

Two other second-tier sides welcome Premier League opposition.

Surprise 2011 winners Birmingham, who stunned Arsenal at Wembley with a late Obafemi Martins winner, entertain Stoke while Leicester City, who won the trophy in 1997 and 2000, take on Fulham.

Arsenal, Chelsea in Cup showdown

Fewer than 48 hours after a dramatic win against Manchester City, Chelsea again face heavyweight opposition as they take on Arsenal in a repeat of the 2007 League Cup final on Tuesday night.

However, Blues boss Jose Mourinho believes fans at the Emirates Stadium will be denied a true spectacle because of poor scheduling.

After learning that his side would have to play twice in three days, Mourinho originally indicated that he would field under-21 players against the Gunners.

But the Portuguese manager, who won this competition twice in his first spell in charge, has since had a change of heart out of "respect" for Blues fans.

Instead he will use his first-team squad on Tuesday, albeit deploying those players who were not involved at the weekend.

Arsenal may have had 28 hours more rest than Chelsea but a fourth game in the space of 11 days could be similarly problematic for a Gunners squad with arguably less strength in depth than the Blues.

This is a trophy that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has never won, although in fairness the Frenchman has rarely prioritised the competition.

However, Wenger will be loath to see his side surrender winning momentum ahead of testing November fixtures against Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

•Chelsea have lost only four of their last 23 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (W13, D6, L4).
•The Blues have won their last three League Cup games against the Gunners, including victory in the 2007 final.

Arsenal

•Defeat would mean Arsenal suffer back-to-back home defeats (in all competitions) for the first time since February 2013, when Blackburn and then Bayern Munich won at the Emirates.
•The Gunners have won nine of their last 10 home League Cup ties, scoring 29 times.
•Their only defeat in that sequence was a 1-0 loss to Manchester City in 2011.
•They have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight matches in this competition, a sequence that began with defeat to Birmingham in the 2011 final.

Chelsea

•The Blues won the League Cup twice in Jose Mourinho's first spell in charge - in 2005 and 2007.
•In total, they have lifted the trophy four times - only Liverpool (eight) and Aston Villa (five) have won the competition more often.
•Chelsea have won their last three away games in all competitions, scoring 10 times and conceding just once.

Tiote given suspended sentence

Newcastle's Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote was handed a suspended seven-month prison sentence on Monday after he admitted possessing a fake driving licence.

Tiote bought the fake Belgian licence for €15,000 and then attempted to swap the forgery for a full UK licence, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Tony Hawks, prosecuting, said that when passing through Belgium, the 27-year-old met a man near Brussels airport and handed over the cash and a photograph of himself.

He then attempted to send it off to the DVLA in Swansea with an application for a UK licence.

"The licence was a very good forgery but there were a number of features that showed it was a forgery," said Mr Hawks.

"The offence is aggravated by what he has done as he sought to change base metal into gold."

Suspending the imprisonment for 18 months, Judge James Goss QC told Tiote that he would have to complete 180 hours of unpaid community work.

"I give you credit for your plea of guilty, which has saved you from an immediate sentence of imprisonment," he said.

"In that way you will be punished and I have no doubt that, using your considerable talent, you will be able to assist others in the community by encouraging them and passing on your skills that way.

Walker signs new deal at Spurs

Tottenham defender Kyle Walker has signed a new contract keeping him at the Premier League club until 2019.

Walker has become a key figure at right-back for Spurs since arriving from Sheffield United in 2009 and has also broken into Roy Hodgson's England team.

The 23-year-old was voted the Professional Footballers Association Young Player of the Year for 2012 and has made 112 appearances for the north London club.

"It's fantastic," Walker said on Monday. "When I first signed here at the age of 18, I always wanted to make it a long stay.

"The lads are fantastic as well as the manager and everyone surrounding the club - it just makes it a lot easier when they do offer you a contract to sign it.

"I'm very thankful to the chairman Daniel Levy for giving me an extension on the contract and hopefully I can repay him by putting the performances in on the pitch and getting that top four spot."

Walker made his Tottenham debut in a 2-0 win over Portsmouth in March 2010 but played just once in the following season before being sent to QPR then Aston Villa.

Having proved his credentials on loan, he forced his way into the Tottenham first team and stayed there for the duration of the 2011-12 campaign.

A month later he made his England debut at Wembley as a substitute against Spain and was handed his first start four days later in a 1-0 win over Sweden.

Walker has won nine caps to date, the last of which came in the 4-1 victory over Montenegro, and is vying with Liverpool's Glen Johnson for the starting berth at next year's World Cup.

Fletcher returns to action with reserves

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has made a return to competitive action, playing 67 minutes for the club's under-21 team as he battles back from a chronic illness.

The 29-year-old Scotland captain announced in November 2011 that he was taking an extended break from the game after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a bowel condition.

He has missed most of the past two seasons, and last appeared for United's senior team on December 26 2012.

He made his latest comeback in a 2-2 draw against Fulham's under-21 team on Monday.

"It's been a long time so it's good to get back tonight," Fletcher told the Manchester United television channel.

"I've been training for a few weeks now and the next progression is to get some match-time. I enjoyed it.

"The plan was to get to halftime and see how I felt. Then get to 60 minutes and take it from there and, although I felt I could have gone on a bit longer, the plan was not to play more than that so I'm better sticking to the plan and not upsetting the sports science lads.

Moyes tells Zaha to stay focused

Manchester United manager David Moyes says that Wilfried Zaha will be given opportunities to prove his worth despite overlooking the England international winger in the season to date.

Zaha linked up with United during the close season after signing from Crystal Palace in a deal worth up to £15 million, but he has still to make his Premier League debut.

The 20-year-old could be handed a start against Norwich City in the League Cup later on Tuesday, but Moyes has admitted that he may be loaned out during the January transfer window.

"I just don't think we have had the right opportunity to get him on as much as would have liked," Moyes told the United website.

"We don't want to put him in too quickly. We want to make it the right time. I've said I would look at (a loan) in January as I wanted to have him here for six months to see how we work.

"I told him we would try to get him minutes, but the competition in the wide areas we have with Nani, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Adnan Januzaj and even Shinji Kagawa playing off the side means we are as strong there as anywhere.

"It's not that Wilf has done anything wrong, it's just that we have big competition and we have to try to make sure he gets some playing time.

"Unfortunately, we haven't done that with Wilf and, if it's still the case in January, we would look at it. But he is very much in my plans and in my thoughts all the time.