Chris Waddle believes his former club Newcastle United will want to face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The Magpies moved a step closer to Wembley by beating Brentford 3-1 at St James' Park last night.

Goals either side of half-time from Sandro Tonali (2) and Fabian Schar ensured Eddie Howe's team joined Arsenal and Liverpool in the last four of the competition. United will discover their semi-final opponents tonight, with the draw scheduled to take place after Tottenham Hotspur's quarter-final tie with Manchester United. Arsenal and Liverpool

Waddle told BBC Sport: "I think Newcastle will want Manchester United in the last four. I know they beat Manchester City at the weekend and everyone says the new manager is going to turn things around but they are not there yet. Newcastle will fancy their chances against them."

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Back-to-back home wins over Leicester City and Brentford in the cup has lifted the mood around Tyneside heading into the busy festive period. And former England international Waddle feels United will be in a "good place" if they can go into their semi-final in the New Year on the back of a good run of form.

"When you're a team who plays on the front foot and you have a lot of talented footballers, you need confidence and results. Scoring and creating breeds more confidence," Waddle told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "That's what we saw from Newcastle a while back. When they were challenging for the top four, that is what they were all about and they lost that. But, it seems to be coming back.

"The advantage they have going into the semi-final is all the other teams at this stage are all involved in Europe. Is is more games for them to test their squads and they can get injuries and have multiple priorities.

"With Newcastle, it is seeing how high they can go in the Premier League and then they can have a free hit at the two cups. This is a big advantage as well. Newcastle are in a good position."