Manchester United vs Sunderland, Capital One Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg: Open Thread

All eyes will be on Manchester United’s match against Sunderland in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup today given the news that Manchester United have placed a £35million bid for Juan Mata via a third party. The Chelsea midfielder didn’t train with Chelsea today, so eagle-eye viewers will be trying to see if Mata is in the stands, or if David Moyes will drop any hints about whether the deal is close to being finalized.

Of course, there’s a football match to be played between two sides that are one step away from a League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium against Manchester City on March 2. Will it be Sunderland or United that will be victorious over the course of the two legs today?

Starting line-ups: 

Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Buttner; Januzaj, Carrick, Fletcher, Kagawa; Welbeck, Hernandez

Subs: Lindegaard, Evra, Jones, Cleverley, Giggs, Young, Valencia

Sunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Alonso, Brown, O’Shea (c), Cattermole, Colback, Ki, Johnson, Borini, Fletcher

Subs: Larsson, Gardner, Celustka, Altidore, Giaccherini, Vergini, Ustari

For viewers in the United States, the match is being shown live in the United States beginning at 2:30pm ET on beIN SPORTS and DishWorld

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, Manchester United vs Sunderland is being shown exclusively on beIN SPORTS and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORTS, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website. Setup takes just minutes.

WATCH: Sunderland defeat Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final 1st leg with a disputed penalty

Before, during or after today’s game, join the conversation with fellow soccer fans in the comments section below.