Why Liverpool and Manchester United can’t meet in the Carabao Cup third round as EFL changes process for teams involved in Europe BUT Chelsea miss out as new format explained

The second round of the Carabao Cup is drawing to a close, which means it is almost time for the revamped third round draw which sees the seven remaining Premier League clubs enter the competition.

Defending champions Liverpool will enter the fold alongside Premier League champions Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea.

However this year the EFL have changed the rules surrounding the third round draw, which will mean that Arne Slot‘s men can’t come up against Erik ten Hags’, whilst there will be no North London derby taking place either.

Tonight’s draw will be split into two stages, the first part will involve only the Premier League sides taking part in the Champions League and Europa League, with the 26 remaining sides getting involved in the second stage alongside the other six.

Here is all you need to know about the third round draw including date, time, where to follow and what changes have been made for this year.

The EFL have made a change to the draw format which means Liverpool cannot come up against Manchester United 

The EFL have had to alter the format of the third round of the Carabao Cup this year.

The new format means that the fixtures be played across a two week period now, instead of one.

This is due to the expansion of both the Champions League and Europa League, which will now see all teams involved play eight games instead of six.

Thanks to the new extended European league format the two competitions fixtures dates directly clash with the the Carabao Cup.

The Carabao Cup third round fixtures are set to be played out across the two weeks beginning September 16 and September 23.

However Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will all play their first matches in the Champions League on September 17 and 18, whilst Manchester United and Tottenham are set to play their first game in the Europa League the following week.

To ensure there is no clash with European and Cup fixtures, the EFL have enforced new rules for the third round of the draw which will avoid any mishaps but also means that the four teams involved in the Champions League won’t come up against Tottenham or Manchester United or each other.

Another clash which is off the cards is the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham

How will the draw work?

The draw will be split into two stages, with the first part involving the teams taking part in the Champions League and Europa League.

Those teams will be placed in a separate bowl (bowl one) from the other 26 sides involved who will be placed in a secondary bowl.

The six teams in bowl one will be entered into a pre-draw ahead of Nottingham Forest’s game against Newcastle tonight.

This draw will decide which of the six clubs in bowl one will play at home or away in their third round clash.

The main draw will then get underway after the Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle game.

How the main draw will work is the first six fixtures announced will involve picking one team from bowl one and pairing it against one of the 26 teams placed in bowl two.

Once the six teams in bowl one has been drawn against another team in bowl two, the remaining fixtures will just involve teams solely from bowl two.

All the six Premier League sides involved in Europe this season will be placed in Bowl One, this includes Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal

Why are Chelsea in bowl two if they are playing in Europe?

As things stand Chelsea have not qualified for the Europa Conference League since they still need to play their second leg play-off tie against Servette. 

Should they get past the Swiss side and qualify for the league stage, The Blues will not begin their European campaign until October. 

Meaning the third round fixture schedule will not affect any of their games in Europe.

Although Chelsea could qualify for the Europa Conference League, their European campaign will not clash with the fixture dates for the third round of the Carabao Cup

What time is the Carabao Cup draw?

The third round of the Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday, August 28.

No official start time has been revealed for the draw since it is due to get underway following the full-time whistle of the final second round fixture between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.

That tie is scheduled for 8pm, meaning the draw should begin around 10:15pm. 

The third round draw for the Carabao Cup will get underway around 10:15pm tonight

How to follow the Carabao Cup third round draw? 

Here at Mail Sport we will be providing a live blog of both the second round fixture between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, as well as the draw for the third round.

The draw will also be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and football. 

For those on the move, the draw will also be accessible to Sky Go customers who will be able to watch in from their phone or laptop.

Now TV will also be streaming the draw live, with options starting from £14.99 for a one-day pass, £26 per month for a year and £34.99 for a rolling monthly contract.