The Carabao Cup returns for its second round this week with Round Three already on the horizon.
Premier League teams entered the competition at the Round Two stage with the potential for a couple of giant-killings before we’ve even bid farewell to the month of August.
In Round Three, though, the remainder of the Premier League’s participants are added into the mix, but there will be two draws, not one, taking place this week.
When will Round Three for the Carabao Cup be drawn?
Round Two for the Carabao Cup will be down live on Sky Sports Football on Wednesday August 26, shortly after the conclusion of Preston North End’s tie with Everton.
Will Round Three of the Carabao Cup be regionalised?
No, Round Three of the Carabao Cup will not split teams north and south.
But, there will be a separation of pots and a split draw process for the Third Round, designed to manage fixture congestion created by UEFA’s expanded European competition calendar.
Will Round Three of the Carabao Cup be seeded?
Yes, the Carabao Cup is now seeded at this stage – with the EFL introducing seeds in Round Three, purely for logistic reasons.
English teams in the Champions League and Europa League play two more matchdays than those in the Conference League, meaning that there could be a fixture pile-up without some kind of system to keep these sides from meeting.
Last season, for example, third-round Carabao ties began on the weeks commencing September 16 and 23, with European fixtures clashing.
Ball numbers
Why are there two draws for the Carabao Cup Third Round?
Before the main draw, which takes place after the Everton game, there will be a pre-draw to decide whether each of the eight Champions League and Europa League Clubs will be at home or away.
The eight Premier League teams competing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League are seeded into Pot 1 because their match dates are strictly constrained by UEFA.
How does the Main Draw work?
The first eight ties pair each pre-selected Pot 1 club (with their home/away status already locked in) against an opponent drawn from Pot 2 (the remaining 24 teams).
The final eight ties are then drawn exclusively from the 16 remaining Pot 2 teams.
Why are Premier League teams in Europe pre-selected for Pot 1?
The separation ensures no European-competing team can draw another European-competing team in the Third Round.
Round Three of the Carabao Cup is played across two separate midweek blocks in September. Champions League Matchday 1 and Europa League Matchday 1 take place on alternate weeks during this window.
If a Champions League team were drawn against a Europa League team, both clubs would have conflicting UEFA fixture commitments on alternate weeks, and because UEFA match dates are non-negotiable, finding a common midweek for them to play each other in the Carabao Cup would be impossible.
The Solution is placing all eight UCL and UEL teams in Pot 1 and guaranteeing they only play non-European teams from Pot 2.
This way the EFL can easily slot each tie into whichever of the two midweeks that specific European team is free.