THE big boys of the Premier League will find out who they are facing in round three of the Carabao Cup this week.
While non-European qualifiers – such as Manchester United, Fulham and Everton, who all play on Wednesday night – entered in round two, the likes of Arsenal , Liverpool, Chelsea and defending champions Newcastle got a bye to round three.
Those three and the English sides playing in the Champions League and Europa League all enter the hat this week.
Because of expanded European competition, the third round fixtures, like last season, will take place over two weeks.
This also means that clubs in the Champions League or Europa League CANNOT be drawn against each other at this stage, in order to complete European obligations.
The condition is only the case in round three and does not affect latter rounds of the Carabao Cup.
A statement from the EFL read: “It would always be the EFL’s preference to conduct the draw in the traditional manner, but these changes have been forced upon us for the second season in succession as a result of Uefa’s failure to consult with the Leagues of Europe prior to finalising its competition schedule.”
Because of the potential scheduling conflicts that means there will be TWO draws on the night.
SunSport has everything you need to know.
When is the Carabao Cup third round draw?
The draw for the Carabao Cup third round takes place on Wednesday, August 27.
Because of the mechanics of the draw – further outlined below – there will be TWO draws.
One BEFORE the start of the match between Grimsby Town and Manchester United and one after – that match kicks-off at 8pm and, while there is no extra-time, the match will go to penalties in the event of a draw .
The draws are expected to be made at approximately 7.25pm BST and approximately 10.25pm BST.
What TV channel is the Carabao Cup second round draw and can it be live streamed for FREE?
The Carabao Cup third round match will be broadcast live on both Sky Sports and ITV as they are sharing coverage of the match between Grimsby Town and Manchester United.
However, due to the coverage timings, the first draw is only on Sky Sports – it can also be live streamed free on the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
The late draw will be shown on both Sky Sports and ITV, as well as live streamed on YouTube and ITVX.
Alternatively, you can follow SunSport’s live blog of the draws to learn all of the confirmed third round ties as they come out of the hat.
Why are there two draws and how does the Carabao Cup third round draw work?
There will be 32 clubs in the hat, 23 teams that progress from round two and nine Premier League clubs that get a bye to round three after qualifying for the Premier League, Europa League and Conference League.
The pre-match pre-draw is taking place to determine which of the Champions League/Europa League teams are playing at home or away.
As there is no scheduling conflict between the Carabao Cup and Conference League fixtures, Crystal Palace are not part of this draw.
For the main draw, two bowls will be used – one consisting of the Champions League and Europa League clubs and one of the other 24 clubs, including Palace.
The first eight-ties will be drawn by alternating between one side from Bowl 1 and one from Bowl 2.
The home/away positioning will already have been determined by the earlier draw.
Once those matches have been drawn, the remaining eight ties will then be drawn from Bowl 2 only.
Who is in the Carabao Cup Third round draw?
Ball numbers for the main draw will be announced on the morning of Wednesday, August 27.
They will be updated in this article as soon as they are announced.
However the following clubs are already confirmed, with Carabao Cup fixtures taking place on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27.
Bowl 1
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Chelsea
- Liverpool
- Man City
- Newcastle United
- Nottingham Forest
- Tottenham Hotspur
Bowl 2
- Crystal Palace
- Reading / Afc Wimbledon
- Cambridge United / Charlton Athletic
- Wolves / West Ham
- Barnsley / Rotherham
- Preston North End / Wrexham
- Wigan Athletic / Stockport County
- Swansea City / Port Vale
- Bournemouth / Brentford
- Birmingham City / Port Vale
- Accrington Stanley / Doncaster Rovers
- Millwall / Coventry City
- Cardiff City / Cheltenham
- Bromley / Wycombe Wanderers
- Burnley / Derby County
- Norwich City / Southampton
- Sunderland / Huddersfield Town
- Burton Albion / Lincoln City
- Stoke City / Bradford City
- Sheffield Wednesday / Leeds United
- Fulham / Bristol City
- Everton / Mansfield Town
- Oxford United / Brighton
- Grimsby Town / Man Utd
