A year ago, it was a shock 4-0 away defeat by West Ham United in the Carling Cup quarter-final. This season, it is another shock defeat in the Carling Cup quarter-final -- this time by Championship side Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. And once again, the defeat is deserved. A mix of youth and experience was fielded by manager Sir Alex Ferguson in his starting XI. By the start of the 2nd half, two of the more experienced players -- Fabio and Dimitar Berbatov -- were off due to injury. United's final substitution was again used on an experienced player due to injury when Paul Pogba came on for Rafael. Nonetheless, it was a very poor and uninspired performance from Fergie's side. Palace defended bravely and took their few chances well and it is a famous victory for the South London club.

Youngsters Pogba, Ravel Morrison, and Zeki Fryers were able to gain valuable experience on this gloomy night at Old Trafford. Each had bright moments. Fringe squad players -- such as Mame Biram Diouf and Federico Macheda -- failed to show Fergie that they are deserving of regular playing time. Kiko took his penalty well and showed moments of fine play but his night was plagued by inconsistency. Diouf was simply poor and to put it harshly, he does not look to be United material. Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia put in solid efforts. The former was class in defense while the latter was the focal point in attack.

What are your thoughts on this shock defeat? Are you gutted to be out of the Carling Cup again in the quarterfinal, or are you ready to shrug it off and focus on the other three more important competitions? What are your thoughts on the youngsters?

MUFC starting XI: Ben Amos; Rafael, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans (c), Fabio; Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson, Ji-Sung Park, Mame Biram Diouf; Federico Macheda, Dimitar Berbatov

MUFC bench: Anders Lindegaard, Zeki Fryers, Will Keane, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Larnell Cole, Jesse Lingard

I got lost in the Everton match earlier and then got caught up in the incredible Chelsea vs Arsenal duel on DVR. This is my excuse for not posting the Carling Cup quarter-final draw earlier. Holy hell... what a match that was at Stamford Bridge. LOL at John Terry.

Anyway, Manchester United will host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on the week of November 28 and quite obviously, this is a favorable draw. It appears to be an almost optimal scenario again for United to get their youngsters further experience with the senior side. The past two matches versus Aldershot Town and Leeds United have seen the likes of Zeki Fryers, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Michael Keane, and Larnell Cole get on the pitch. It has also proved useful to get some experienced players a run that have not been playing much and also a soft-landing return from injury lay-offs.

Here is the full draw -- there certainly are some interesting matches:

* Chelsea FC vs Liverpool FC

* Arsenal FC vs Manchester City

* Cardiff City vs Blackburn Rovers

* Manchester United vs Crystal Palace

Just two days after their shock 1-6 defeat to Manchester City, Manchester United traveled south to defeat League Two side Aldershot Town FC 0-3 in a round 4 Carling Cup match. United dominated possession throughout the match and it was Dimitar Berbatov that opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Near the top of the box, Park Ji-sung played the ball to Tom Cleverley who then split the defense and returned the pass to Park in the box after an intelligent run -- the Korean then pulled it back for Berba who clinically finished. Michael Owen scored the 2nd goal in the 41st minute after Berbatov played a nice ball across the box for him to finish. Just 3 minutes into the 2nd half, Antonio Valencia added a third goal to effectively seal the match when he cracked a shot to the top corner from about 24 yards out.

The match was a positive for United as many squad members who haven't been playing were able to get a run -- Berbatov and Owen made the most of their appearances. Captain Nemanja Vidic continues to search for form and fitness after his long injury lay-off but his timing in tackle appears to be a bit off at the moment. Park Ji-sung gave an industrious display in the center of the park and helped United overrun Aldershot in the center. Perhaps the most welcoming sight was the return of Tom Cleverley to the side. The youngster dictated the match for entire hour that he was on the pitch. He looks ready to compete for being first-choice again in the center of the park -- a spark that the Reds need at the moment.

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United starting XI: Ben Amos; Fabio, Nemanja Vidic, Zeki Fryers, Phil Jones; Mame Biram Diouf, Park Ji-sung, Tom Cleverley, Antonio Valencia; Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen

United bench: David De Gea, Will Keane, Marnick Vermijl, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Larnell Cole, Michael Keane

United starting XI: Ben Amos, Fabio, Zeki Fryars, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valenica, Federico Macheda, Park Ji-sung, Ryan Giggs, Mame Biram Diouf, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen

United bench: David de Gea, Danny Welbeck, Reece Brown, Larnell Cole, Michael Keane, Paul Pogba, Tom Thorpe

TV: Fox Soccer Plus(US)
SCORECENTRE: Sky Sports
WEATHER: Weather.co.uk
PREVIEW: The Busby Babe
ODDS: West Ham United: 4/1; Draw: 11/4; Manchester United: 8/11

LAST TIME OUT:
WEST HAM 3 Wigan 1 Match Report			MAN UNITED 7 Blackburn 1 Match Report
STARTING 11:
1	R. Green		1	E. van der Sar
37	L. Jacobsen		21	Rafael
5	J. Tomkins		5	R. Ferdinand
15	M. Upson		15	N. Vidic
4	D. Gabbidon		3	P. Evra
21	V. Behrami		17	Nani
12	P. Barrera		16	M. Carrick
8	S. Parker		8	Anderson
25	J. Stanislas		13	J. Park
30	F. Piquionne		9	D. Berbatov
33	V. Obinna		10	W. Rooney
EVENTS:
Min. # Player (Event)   Min. # Player (Event) 34' 21 Behrami 2' 9 Berbatov 50' 37 Jacobsen 23' 13 Park - 2 W. Reid 27' 9 Berbatov 56' 33 Obinna 47' 9 Berbatov 75' 8 Parker 48' 17 Nani 77' 30 Piquionne 62' 9 Berbatov - 9 Cole 64' 15 Vidic 83' 8 Parker - 23 J. Evans - 14 Kovac 70' 9 Berbatov 72' 13 Park - 27 G. Obertan

So let's start with facts: West Ham haven't beaten Manchester United since December 29, 2007 (7 matches ago); they also haven't scored a goal on United since May 3, 2008 (6 matches ago).  Those are all Premier League games and the only time they've been paired in this competition was in the 3rd round of the 85-86 League Cup, when United won 1-0 before being eliminated in the next round by Liverpool.

Before Saturday's win vs. Wigan, West Ham were on a winless streak of 5 going back to the last round of this competition where they beat Stoke City 3-1.

Take those facts and add in that West Ham are currently bottom of the Premier League table and you can see why I might be so optimistic about United's prospects Tuesday night at Upton Park.  

West Ham will likely field a strong lineup, as this may be their only realistic chance at silverware and Avram Grant will be looking to find that magic that saw him lead Portsmouth to the FA Cup Final last season, even though they too were at the bottom of the table. 

Manchester United, on the other hand, are unbeaten in 29 games in all competitions, which is even more impressive considering how bland they've looked most of the season.  Unlike West Ham, United probably won't field a first-team like lineup, though any lineup United put forth will be fairly strong. 

Here's my projected starting 11: Kuszczak; Fabio, Vidic, Smalling, Neville; Park, Gibson, Carrick; Anderson, Hernandez, Bebe.  Fletcher may get the start if he's healthy.  The bench could likely see Amos, Brown, Obertan, Macheda, and take your pick of Eikrem or Dudgeon.  I'd imagine a clearer picture of tomorrow's lineup will be available following the Reserves fixture vs. Oldham later.