Holders Man Utd and Chelsea ease into League Cup fourth round

Manchester United advanced to the League Cup fourth round with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton on Wednesday even though the holders played more than half of the match with 10 men.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who made 11 changes to the team that defeated Manchester City on Sunday, saw Brazilian defender Fabio Da Silva sent off for a professional foul in the first half at Old Trafford.

Fabio, making only his fifth appearance, slipped as he tried to catch Michael Kightly in the 28th minute and only managed to drag the Wolves winger to the turf as he sprinted clear.

But Michael Owen had scored the winner against City and he turned provider with a pass to Danny Welbeck that allowed the young forward to break Wolves’ stubborn resistance in the 66th minute.

Chelsea extended their winning run under new boss Carlo Ancelotti to eight matches in all competitions as Salomon Kalou’s goal earned a 1-0 win over west London neighbours QPR.

The Blues have triumphed in every game since the Italian took charge and, after a tight first half at the Stamford Bridge, the Premier League leaders took the lead in the 52nd minute when Kalou beat QPR’s offside trap and fired past Tom Heaton.

There was more good news for Chelsea as midfielder Joe Cole returned from a knee injury that had sidelined him since January, while Russia winger Yury Zhirkov made his debut after recovering from injury.

Peter Crouch scored a hat-trick as Tottenham’s bid to reach a third successive League Cup final stayed on track with a 5-1 win against Championship promotion chasers Preston.

Crouch underlined his case for a more regular place in Harry Redknapp’s team with his first treble for over two years and helped Tottenham, beaten by Manchester United in last season’s final, run riot at Deepdale.

It was Crouch who opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Then Jermain Defoe increased their advantage in the 37th minute and Crouch notched his second in the 77th minute.

Chris Brown got one back for Preston in the 83rd minute but there was still time for Robbie Keane to add Tottenham’s fourth goal three minutes from full-time before Crouch claimed his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Everton striker Ayegbeni Yakubu scored for the first time in 10 months to inspire his team’s 4-0 romp at struggling Hull.

Yakubu was making his first start since November 2008 as the Nigerian continues his comeback from a snapped Achilles and he took just 11 minutes to make his mark, taking Diniyar Bilyaletdinov’s pass and curling home.

Hull made nine changes following their weekend loss to Birmingham and Phil Brown’s stand-ins were blown away.

Jo struck in the 20th minute and Dan Gosling added a third goal four minutes later before Leon Osman’s second half strike completed Hull’s misery.

Gabriel Agbonlahor’s early goal was enough for Aston Villa to see off Cardiff 1-0 at Villa Park.

Nigel Reo-Coker was again excluded from Martin O’Neill’s squad after a training-ground bust-up with the Villa boss, but he wasn’t missed against the Championship side.

Villa took the lead in the third minute when Agbonlahor met John Carew’s cross with a fine finish.

James Milner missed a second half penalty after Stilian Petrov was fouled and Cardiff felt they should have had a last-gasp equaliser, but Jay Bothroyd’s effort was disallowed for offside.