Carabao Cup Second Round Fixtures Announced
The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup has been completed, setting up several matchups across both northern and southern sections of the competition. Among the fixtures, five-time winners Chelsea are scheduled to play League One Luton at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, Tottenham will host Championship side Charlton.
In another notable match, four-time winners Nottingham Forest will face Leeds in the only all-Premier League tie of this round. Newcastle is set to take on second-tier West Bromwich Albion, and Fulham will play AFC Wimbledon at Craven Cottage. Brentford has an away trip to Birmingham City, while Ipswich will host League One Leicester.
The second round also sees David Moyes returning to Deepdale as Everton visits Preston North End, the club where he started his managerial career. West Ham, who defeated Portsmouth in the first round, will travel to fellow Championship team Southampton. All second-round matches are scheduled to take place in the midweek of the week commencing Monday, 24 August. The nine English clubs participating in European competitions this season will join the Carabao Cup in the third round.
Potential Fixture Complications
The scheduling of the Carabao Cup second-round matches has created potential fixture conflicts, particularly for Chelsea and Fulham. Both teams are not involved in European competitions, meaning they enter the Carabao Cup in the second round. A Premier League match between Fulham and Chelsea was selected for live broadcast on Monday, 24 August, which could lead to both teams playing two games in the same midweek period.
Ordinarily, EFL Cup ties would be moved to the Thursday to allow for 72 hours’ rest between matches. This could then impact the Premier League’s weekend schedule. For instance, Fulham’s match at Sunderland was already moved to Sunday, and Chelsea versus Brighton was also chosen for Sunday broadcast.
A further complication arose when both Fulham and Chelsea were drawn to play at home in the Carabao Cup, as teams are generally not supposed to play at home on the same day. This situation may require concessions from authorities or creative solutions from the EFL. Additionally, the opponents of Fulham and Chelsea, Wimbledon and Luton respectively, have League One fixtures on the Saturday following the cup ties. If the Carabao Cup matches are moved to Thursday, their Saturday league games would typically shift to Sunday.
This could also affect a full programme of League One games scheduled for the following Tuesday, potentially impacting four additional matches that might need to be moved to Wednesday. This scenario could lead to teams playing two games within 48 hours or supporters facing displaced games after making travel arrangements. The games potentially impacted on Saturday, 29 August include Wimbledon against Wigan and Mansfield against Luton. On Tuesday, 1 September, potential impacts include Burton versus Wimbledon, Wigan against MK Dons, Luton versus Stockport, and Reading against Mansfield.
Full Second Round Draw Details
The draw for the second round of the EFL Cup was divided into northern and southern sections. The draw was hosted by David Prutton, alongside pundits Jobi McAnuff and Jamie Mackie, during the build-up to the Plymouth Argyle versus Exeter City match.
The northern section fixtures include:
- Stoke v Hull
- Newcastle v West Bromwich Albion
- Blackburn v Sheffield United
- Nottingham Forest v Leeds
- Fleetwood v Shrewsbury
- Bradford v Burnley
- Sheffield Wednesday v Wolves
- Blackpool v Lincoln
- Preston v Everton
- Barnsley v Crewe
- Doncaster v Middlesbrough
The southern section fixtures are:
- Stevenage v Reading
- Cardiff v Norwich
- Ipswich v Leicester
- Walsall v Leyton Orient
- Cambridge v Millwall
- Birmingham v Brentford
- Southampton v West Ham
- Watford v Peterborough
- Fulham v AFC Wimbledon
- Plymouth/Exeter v Coventry
- Chelsea v Luton
- Tottenham v Charlton
The second round will be played in the week commencing Monday, 24 August.
Source: bbc.co.uk