Carabao Cup Third Round Draw to Implement New Format

On Wednesday night, the draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup will take place, marking the beginning of the club’s campaign in this significant competition.

This year’s draw will feature a new format due to the expansion of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. As a result, two additional matchweeks have been added to the calendar, which coincide with the dates of the Carabao Cup third round.

The third round matches will be played in staggered weeks, commencing on 16th and 23rd September, to prevent fixture clashes for teams participating in European competitions.

To address this scheduling challenge, two draws will be utilized: bowl one will consist of the six teams that reached the Champions League and Europa League, including Arsenal, while bowl two will contain the remaining 26 clubs.

This modification ensures that Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Arsenal will not draw each other in the third round.

The six teams from bowl one will be assigned as either home or away for the third round and placed separately into the first six ties. Subsequently, teams from bowl two will be paired with one European club to complete these ties, followed by a traditional draw for the remaining matches.

This altered format will only apply to the third round, while the remainder of the competition will proceed with the traditional free-draw method.

The draw is scheduled to commence following the conclusion of the Nottingham Forest versus Newcastle United match at the City Ground and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.