Image source, PA Media

BBC Sport readers rated Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister as man of the match in the World Cup final. He won't feature tonight as he's back in Argentina, celebrating the nation's third World Cup win.

Albion chief executive Paul Barber said Brighton "would be a very poor club" to deny the 23-year-old the chance to return home, but Barber added: "On the other hand, we have got games coming up thick and fast and one of the downsides of the Qatar World Cup is that we haven't yet even completed half a season.

"We've actually got a lot of work to do now and Alexis will be a big part of that. We're all looking forward to it very much."

After tonight's game, Albion have Premier League matches against Southampton (26 December) and Arsenal (31 December).

Leon Osman
Former Everton midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think moving Cristiano Ronaldo is a big step closer for [Erik ten Hag getting United to where they want to be].

He's said recently that he identified that he needed characters to push the club in the right direction and he seems to believe that's the case now that he's moved Ronaldo on.

We'll only see that in the coming weeks. They left going into the break in a confident manner and I'm sure these United fans are keen to see it.

Image source, Getty Images

David de Gea is still "a world class goalkeeper" and Manchester United should strive to keep hold of him, argues former Everton and West Ham midfielder Don Hutchison.

The Spanish keeper, who sits on the bench tonight, is in talks with the United hierarchy about extending his contract, which expires next summer.

However, if no agreement is found, he will be free to sign a pre-contract deal with a European club from 1 January 2023.

"His form over the last 18 months deserves a new contract," Hutchison told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "I would be very surprised if United allowed him to move on.

"I don't think he's past his best and actually 32 is not old for a goalkeeper. He doesn't carry any weight, his agility is still there and he has been exceptional."

Image source, Getty Images

Marcus Rashford starts for Manchester United tonight and will be hoping to celebrate a one-year contract extension with a win.

United triggered extensions for Rashford, England's Luke Shaw, Portugal defender Diogo Dalot and Brazil's Fred.

Negotiations continue with goalkeeper David de Gea, whose deal will expire at the end of the season.

If United triggered an extension for the 32-year-old Spaniard, it would be on the £375,000-a-week salary the club committed to when they last extended De Gea's contract in 2019.

Image source, PA Media

It's not that long ago that the roles were reversed for these two teams. As recently as 2006-07, Charlton were a Premier League club while Brighton had just dropped back into League One.

Now Charlton are at their "lowest ebb in living memory", languishing near the bottom of League One and being knocked out of the FA Cup by a Stockport County side that has only just come back up from non-league.

Meanwhile, Brighton have their eyes on European qualification this season and had a player bossing the midfield in Sunday's World Cup final, plus a host of others who impressed over in Qatar, so the Addicks are very much the underdogs at the Valley tonight.

The Blackburn v Nottingham Forest match has been delayed by 15 minutes because of traffic so that now becomes a 20:00 GMT start.

Danny Higginbotham
Former Man Utd defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think there's a lot of players who haven't played for a while but the players are still adjusting to the style of Ten Hag. He wants to play the strongest team possible within reason.

There will be players who haven't played since the Premier League had a break. There's nothing like a competitive match and this will be key for them.

They will want to win this cup as well.

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers, Premier League champions in 1994-95, have not been in the top flight since being relegated in 2011-12 and even had one season in League One in 2017-18.

But the glory times could be returning to Ewood Park as the side, managed by former Newcastle and AC Milan striker Jon Dahl Tomasson, are third in the Championship and pushing for promotion.

This is their fourth match in the Carabao Cup as they thrashed Hartlepool 4-0 in round one, won 2-1 at Bradford in round two and then won 10-9 on penalties after it had finished 2-2 (with Ben Brereton Diaz scoring a late equaliser) against Premier League West Ham in the third round.

"I'm extremely excited," said Tomasson. "The lads have done an excellent job so far, winning three rounds and being giant killers against a West Ham side who had done extremely well in Europe.

"Now we have another Premier League club coming to Ewood Park, a place that we're normally extremely strong at so we're looking forward to the game."

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at Old Trafford

Aaron Wan-Bissaka starts his first game for Manchester United since the 4-0 hammering at Liverpool in April.

Wan-Bissaka has been limited to just four minutes' action this season, also against Liverpool, since when injury has kept him on the sidelines and Diogo Dalot has emerged as Erik ten Hag's first-choice right-back.

Tonight is a massive opportunity for the 25-year-old, especially as Ten Hag has been looking at bringing in defensive reinforcements.

Image source, Getty Images

This is Manchester United v Burnley not Manchester United v Vincent Kompany.

That's what the Burnley boss has been stressing as the Championship leaders prepare to go to Old Trafford.

"I think for us it gives us the chance to measure ourselves against some of the best and see how close we are," said the former Manchester City skipper.

"It’s a game we want to perform in and improve in and measure where we’re at, so we’ll treat it like all the other games.

“That in itself is more exciting for me, more than the fact we’re going to Old Trafford, it will be a test and we look forward to it.”

Image source, Getty Images

You can imagine what sort of reception Vincent Kompany will receive from the home fans at Old Trafford tonight...

But there will be plenty in the away end to welcome the Burnley manager, who is - of course - a Manchester City legend.

About 7,000 Clarets supporters are heading down to Old Trafford tonight.

The M66 is going to be busy.

Leon Osman
Former Everton midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

The mighty Burnley are in town. I'm seeing them on the pitch and they look confident. This is a confident Burnley, they're flying in the Championship.

The stop for the World Cup hasn't stopped the momentum for this team.

Of course United have the better players, the better squad, but it's nothing that a team full of confidence can't achieve and they are a team full of confidence.

Image source, Getty Images

Feels a long time ago since we saw Alejandro Garnacho snatch a late winner for Manchester United at Fulham.

United's last competitive game was 38 days ago, to be precise.

In contrast, Burnley have been back in the groove for a couple of weeks.

The Championship paused for a month and in their two games since returning, Burnley have earned comfortable wins over QPR and Middlesbrough.

With the return of the Premier League season, it almost feels like summer.

Well, apart from dark nights, icy weather and Christmas around the corner, that is. You know what we're getting at.

Following the World Cup in Qatar this will be Manchester United's first home match in six weeks.

Opening day of the season vibes.

Image source, Getty Images

It was a clean sweep for the Premier League yesterday, with Leicester, Newcastle, Southampton and Wolves moving into the quarter-finals.

The only non-top-flight sides left in the tournament are Blackburn, Burnley and Charlton who face Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Brighton respectively tonight, before the round ends in style with the all-Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool on Thursday.

Image source, PA Media

Newcastle reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a hard-fought win over Bournemouth at St James Park.

Adam Smith's own goal proved decisive for the hosts, with the defender inadvertently heading past Cherries goalkeeper Mark Travers from Kieran Trippier's superb delivery.

It was no more than Eddie Howe's side deserved with the home team creating the bulk of the goalscoring chances.

Newcastle will find out who they meet next in Thursday evening's draw.

Magpies boss Howe included goalkeeper Nick Pope, full-back Trippier and forward Callum Wilson, who were all part of England's World Cup squad in Qatar, in the starting XI against Howe's old club.

Switzerland defender Fabian Schar and Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes also began the contest for a home side that appeared close to full strength.

Image source, Reuters

Che Adams' double helped Southampton come from behind and avoid a shock against League One Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

The win gives Nathan Jones his first win as Saints boss, after losing his only previous match in charge at Liverpool on 12 November.

His side fell behind early when Gavin Bazunu failed to deal with Ainsley Maitland-Niles' sliced clearance. But Adams scored either side of the break to see Southampton through.

The two goals represent the first time Southampton have scored more than one in a game since their win over Chelsea on 30 August.

It is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals of the competition since they lost to Manchester United in the 2017 final.

Image source, Getty Images

Julen Lopetegui got off to a winning start as Wolves manager as they edged into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at the expense of Gillingham.

The Premier League strugglers finally found the breakthrough on 77 minutes through a Raul Jimenez penalty after Hwang Hee-chan was fouled.

Rayan Ait-Nouri then secured the win in stoppage time following a breakaway.

Gillingham, bottom of League Two, were spirited but eventually outgunned by their hosts.

Former Real Madrid and Spain manager Lopetegui's first game in charge of Wolves had been a long time coming, after he replaced the sacked Bruno Lage in November.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester strolled past MK Dons to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in their first game after the World Cup.

Youri Tielemans and Ayoze Perez gave the Foxes a two-goal cushion by the break before Jamie Vardy added another.

Chances were sporadic for the hosts at Stadium MK and they did not make the most of their few opportunities.

Premier League Leicester were a step above and their sharpness in the final third was too much for the League One side to handle.

So the team news is in, but before we dive into tonight's matches, a very quick recap of what happened in yesterday's matches...