Why Arsenal can't face Tottenham in Carabao Cup draw but Chelsea miss out as new format explained
Arsenal and Tottenham will be kept apart when the draw for the third-round of the Carabao Cup takes place this week.
The move has been made due to the expansion of the Champions League and Europa League this season, with two extra games part of the European schedule.
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It means the north London duo, plus Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United will have their games moved for the third-round, but the new format won’t apply to Chelsea despite also playing in Europe.
The Carabao Cup third-round will take place on the weeks beginning September 16 and 23, which clashes with European games.
Arsenal, Villa, Liverpool and Man City are due in Champions League action the week beginning September 16. Man Utd and Spurs will begin their Europa League campaigns the following week.
To ensure there is no clash of fixture dates, conditions will be implemented during the third-round draw of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, which will mean clubs competing in the Champions League or Europa League cannot face each other.
There will be 32 teams in the hat for the third-round draw, the 25 winners from this week’s second-round and the seven Premier League clubs in UEFA competitions this season.
Should they get past Servette on Thursday, Chelsea will not begin their Conference League campaign until October and, as a result, the third round draw has no impact on them.
The Blues will be in Bowl 2 with the 25 winners from round two, while the six Premier League sides competing in the Champions League and Europa League this season will be in Bowl 1.
A pre-draw will take place prior to Nottingham Forest’s match against Newcastle on Wednesday to determine the home and away positioning of the six clubs in Bowl 1 for the first six ties of the main draw.
The main draw will then be conducted following the conclusion of the game at the City Ground and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The first six ties will be drawn by alternating between one club from Bowl 1 and one side from Bowl 2. Once the six clubs from Bowl 1 have been drawn, the remaining ten ties will be drawn from Bowl 2 only.
From this round of the competition, the draw is no longer split into northern and southern sections.
