In a repeat of last season’s draw, Manuel Pellegrini’s men will welcome the Catalan club to The Etihad in February before travelling to the Nou Camp in March.

United were in devilish form at Old Trafford on Sunday as they sealed their sixth consecutive Premier League victory by beating Liverpool 3-0.

The relative lack of current success for both clubs is threatening to take some of the bite out this most tempestuous of clashes.

The last meeting between the two was in April 2013 when Oldham’s Lee Johnson bested his father Gary, winning 1-0 thanks to a solitary goal from Matt Smith.

On Monday City opened their new state-of-the-art £200million training ground in the presence of playing legends past and present.

Robin van Persie’s double secured a 2-1 victory for United – their fifth on the bounce – against Southampton on Monday evening, though they only managed three shots on goal, their lowest tally in a game since 2003.

At a meeting with Manchester City’s 1894 fan group to discuss rail seating, the safest standing system, Lib Dem MP for Withington John Leech questioned whether clubs would be vilified for introducing them.

The Latics suffered yet another loss on Saturday at home to Norwich City, who saw the struggling club off in the first five minutes to come away with a 1-0 win that left Wigan three points from safety.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £50million investment will be split between building all-weather pitches and coaching on the recommendation of the Football Association at the opening of Manchester City’s state-of-the-art facility.

Manager Keith Hill could only name five players on the bench for the second round tie, with three members of his team succumbing to a virus the evening prior to the game.

United manager Louis van Gaal has again been promised another vast transfer budget to continue re-shaping his United squad, on top of the £150million spent in the last window.