We're just about getting towards the stage of the Carabao Cup where clubs actually start taking it vaguely seriously, with this week's round of fixtures set to determine who will be the eight quarter-finalists.
The round of 16 will be played across Tuesday and Wednesday evening with blashes including Brighton v Liverpool, Newcastle v Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City. Elsewhere, managerless Manchester United will welcome Leicester City, and Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace.
Three Championship sides remain in the competition and all have a shot at an upset against Premier League opposition as Stoke visit Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday go to Brentford, and Preston North End host Arsenal.
When is the Carabao Cup quarter-final draw and how can you watch it?
The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on Wednesday October 30, following the televised encounter between Spurs and Manchester City, which will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HDR. It will also be available via the Sky Go app.
That game kicks off at 8:15pm, so we can probably expect the draw to take place sometimes around 10:15-10:30pm.
Jamie Redknapp and Izzy Christiansen will make the draw, with Mark Chapman hosting proceedings.
When will the Carabao Cup quarter-finals be played?
Those games are slated for week commencing Monday December 16.
That means there's potential for several different games to end up getting repeated back to back, much like Newcastle and Chelsea playing one another both on Sunday in the Premier League and then again on Wednesday in the cup.
That potentially includes three derby games: Brighton v Crystal Palace, Chelsea v Brentford, and Manchester United v Manchester City.
The quarter-final winners will go on to the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs. The first leg is set to be played week commencing January 6, 2025. The final will be held on March 16, 2025.
Who's in the draw for the Carabao Cup quarter-finals?
Depending on the results this week, we're going to get:
- Southampton or Stoke City
- Brentford or Sheffield Wednesday
- Brighton or Liverpool
- Preston or Arsenal
- Manchester United or Leicester
- Newcastle United or Chelsea
- Aston Villa or Crystal Palace
- Tottenham or Manchester City
Liverpool are the reigning holders after beating Chelsea 1-0 after extra time in last season's final thanks to Virgil van Dijk's late winner. That made Liverpool the first club to reach ten League Cup wins, first winning it in 1981.
