The Carabao Cup is set to kick into high gear as the Premier League’s heavyweights join the competition in the third round next month. The top seven teams from the Premier League who qualified for the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League this season were allowed to skip the first two rounds of matches.
Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea will all enter the Carabao Cup at the third-round stage. Only 32 teams will be involved in the third-round draw, which includes the 25 teams that triumphed in their second-round clashes, along with the seven European qualifiers. Teams like Cardiff City and Swansea are in action for their second-round matches.
This season introduces a revamped draw system, where teams are divided into two groups. Group 1 includes Champions League and Europa League clubs, such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Manchester United. Group 2 will have all other teams, including Europa Conference League qualifiers Chelsea.
The third round of the Carabao Cup will be spread over two midweeks due to the congested European schedule. The pre-draw to determine the home or away positioning of the six teams in Group 1 will happen before Nottingham Forest’s match with Newcastle United.
The main draw will be hosted by Mark Chapman with a projected start time of 10.15pm (BST) and can be viewed on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Football. The ball numbers for the draw will be revealed on Wednesday morning. Stay tuned for exciting fixtures in the upcoming stages of the Carabao Cup.