Having resumed a rivalry that turned extremely sour in Spain when they were in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona, Guardiola claimed the early bragging rights with a derby victory in the Premier League earlier this month.

And now the pair will clash again when holders City visit Old Trafford in the week of October 24.

United are back in the winner’s circle, ending a three-match losing streak overnight, Australian time, with a far from routine 3-1 win over Northampton to reach the EFL Cup fourth round.

Community Shield glory and three straight Premier League wins brought the feel-good factor back to Old Trafford, only for things to awry prior to their trip to the League One club.

It looked like being a long night for Northampton when Michael Carrick capped his first appearance since the Community Shield with a sumptuous strike, only for Alex Revell to convert a penalty just before halftime.

United regained their advantage through Ander Herrera’s thumping effort after 68 minutes before substitute Marcus Rashford – brought on early in the second half with Zlatan Ibrahimovic – wrapped up the victory when Northampton keeper Adam Smith embarrassingly failed to deal with a simple long ball.

Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling were the only survivors in the United line-up from the weekend defeat to Watford, and it was little surprise to see United take a 17th-minute lead via Carrick’s first goal since March 2015.

Manchester City reached the EFL Cup’s fourth round with a 2-1 win over Swansea City, continuing their imperious start to the season under Guardiola with a ninth straight win in all competitions.

Holders City, who have taken home two of the last three trophies in what was previously known as the League Cup, took the lead through Gael Clichy four minutes after halftime and made the tie safe when 19-year-old Aleix Garcia found the net midway through the second half.

Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson grabbed a consolation deep into stoppage time.

Tottenham Hotspur made light work of third tier Gillingham, as Christian Eriksen scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing, while West Ham United needed a 96th-minute free kick from Dimitri Payet to beat Accrington Stanley 1-0.

Charlie Austin and Jake Hesketh were on target for Southampton as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in an all-Premier League tie while Sunderland’s Paddy McNair scored twice in a 2-1 win over Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

Hull City booked their spot in the next round after coming from behind to beat struggling Stoke City 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Markus Henriksen. Bristol City beat Fulham 2-1.

The Manchester derby will not be the only heavyweight tie, with Liverpool and Tottenham also set to do battle for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, there will be a London derby between West Ham and Chelsea, who won a dramatic third-round tie against Leicester in extra-time yesterday.

Norwich’s reward for beating Everton at Goodison Park is a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds, while Preston – who took the Premier League scalp of Bournemouth – will travel to Newcastle.

Arsenal host Reading while Hull travel to the south west to face Bristol City and there is an all-Premier League clash between Southampton and Sunderland.

-Reuters, PA