THE two Manchester clubs will meet in the semifinals of the English League Cup after both pulled clear in the second half to beat lower-division opponents in the last eight Wednesday.

City stayed on course to win the competition for a third straight season after Raheem Sterling scored twice after halftime in a 3-1 win at third-tier Oxford that proved tougher than expected for the Premier League champions.

United scored all of its goals after the break to earn a 3-0 win over Colchester, which arrived at Old Trafford in ninth place in the fourth tier and defended stoutly before Marcus Rashford’s opener on the counterattack in the 51st minute.

The neighbors were then paired in the draw for the two-legged semifinals, for a repeat of their last-four meeting in 2010 that saw United advance thanks to Wayne Rooney’s injury-time goal in the second leg at Old Trafford.

Leicester, which is in second place in the Premier League, will start as favorite in the other semifinal against Aston Villa after beating Everton 4-2 in a penalty shootout, having squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 after 90 minutes.

Villa thrashed a heavily weakened Liverpool team 5-0 Tuesday.

The first legs of the semifinals take place Jan. 7 and 8. The return legs are two weeks later.

City, which took the lead through right back Joao Cancelo’s first goal for the club in the 22nd, allowed 18 shots to a team that is in eighth place in League One. According to stats supplier Opta, that’s the most shots City has faced in a single match under Pep Guardiola in his 3 1/2 years in charge.

United scored all of its goals in the second half against Colchester, with Rashford and Anthony Martial netting either side of an own goal.(SD-Agencies)