The EFL has been forced to adapt the Carabao Cup third round draw, splitting it into two separate draws to avoid scheduling conflicts with European competitions. The draw is scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening, after full-time of Everton's trip to Preston, which is live on Sky Sports. However, the draw precedes the completion of all second-round ties, with Chelsea vs Luton and Fulham vs AFC Wimbledon both set to take place on Thursday.
European clubs cause scheduling headache
Eight Premier League clubs competing in Europe are causing significant headaches for decision-makers. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all competing in the Champions League, while Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Sunderland will feature in the Europa League. Brighton could still qualify for the Conference League through the qualifiers, though that competition does not kick off until October and will therefore not cause a scheduling conflict.
Champions League and Europa League fixtures in September, pencilled in for the weeks commencing September 7 and September 14 respectively, will clash with the third round of the Carabao Cup.
New conditions and pre-draw introduced
The EFL has consequently opted to introduce new conditions for the draw to guarantee that the aforementioned clubs cannot be pitted against one another in the third round. A "pre-draw" has also been introduced, set to take place on Sky Sports ahead of Preston vs Everton. This will determine whether the Premier League clubs competing in European competitions will be drawn at home or away in the main draw.
The EFL explained in a statement: "In the main draw, to be conducted after the round two tie, the first eight ties will involve those Champions League and Europa League clubs, with their home or away position already having been decided, and each will be drawn against a club from a separate bowl containing the remaining teams. Once those eight ties have been drawn, the final eight ties will be drawn as normal."
Second-round highlights and defending champions
Amongst the standout second-round fixtures are Nottingham Forest vs Leeds, Southampton vs West Ham, Newcastle vs West Brom and Tottenham vs Charlton. Manchester City come into the competition as defending champions, having defeated Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley back in February, courtesy of a brace from Nico O'Reilly.
