How Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are affected by major Carabao Cup draw change

3 weeks ago 1

A significant change has been made to the draw for the third-round of the Carabao Cup which directly affects the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.

The second-round of the competition takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday night, with 13 Premier League clubs entering the mix.

Following its conclusion, the draw for the third-round will be made, with the seven teams taking part in European competition finally going into the hat.

They are: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa (Champions League), Manchester United, Tottenham (Europa League) and Chelsea (Conference League).

However, the Carabao Cup has been forced to undergo a major change for this season thanks to new format being used in European competitions.

The 32-team group stage has been replaced by a 36-team league phase with those competing in the Champions League and Europa League playing more fixtures.

Given the congested calendar, the third-round of the cup will now be played across a fortnight in the weeks commencing September 16 and 23.

Moreover, in order to avoid a fixture clash the six clubs in the UCL and UEL cannot be drawn against each other.

This means that there will be no North London or Manchester derby in the third-round of the cup, potentially giving the six teams an easier run to the final at Wembley.

Clubs in the Carabao Cup Third Round Draw

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Chelsea

Liverpool

Manchester City

Manchester United

Tottenham

AFC Wimbledon or Ipswich Town

Barnsley or Sheffield United

Barrow or Derby County

Birmingham City or Fulham

Blackburn Rovers or Blackpool

Brighton or Crawley Town

Cardiff City or Southampton

Colchester United or Brentford

Coventry City or Oxford United

Crystal Palace or Norwich City

Everton or Doncaster Rovers

Fleetwood Town or Rotherham United

Grimsby Town or Sheffield Wednesday

Harrogate Town or Preston North End

Leicester City or Tranmere Rovers

Middlesbrough or Stoke City

Millwall or Leyton Orient

Nottingham Forest or Newcastle United

QPR or Luton Town

Shrewsbury Town or Bolton Wanderers

Swansea City or Wycombe Wanderers

Walsall or Huddersfield Town

Watford or Plymouth Argyle

West Ham or Bournemouth

Wolves or Burnley

Though Chelsea are also competing in Europe – providing they see off Servette in their play-off tie – they are not included in this as the Conference League league phase doesn’t start until October.

When is the Carabao Cup third-round draw?

The draw for the third-round will take place on Wednesday night at the City Ground following the second-round match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.

Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man Utd and Spurs will be drawn first from a separate bowl to ensure they do not meet followed by the remaining 26 clubs.

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