Tottenham Hotspur will find out their Carabao Cup opponents this week, here is all the information you need to know ahead of the competition.
Hopes are high at Tottenham Hotspur following an impressive first season under Ange Postecoglou.
Having won silverware at every club he has managed so far, the Aussie will now be looking to do the same in North London.
With Spurs fans so desperate for a trophy, many will view the Carabao Cup as a viable opportunity to end their 16-year wait for silverware.
Before Tottenham fans start dreaming of Wembley though, they must know there have been a few changes to this year’s competition.
With that being said here is everything you need to know about this season’s Carabao Cup.
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Carabao Cup changes 2024/25
The extension of European competitions like the Champions League has meant the Carabao Cup has had to make a few changes this season to accommodate the additional fixtures.
Premier League teams who didn’t join in the second round (those competing in Europe), will enter the competition at the third round stage.
However, instead of the whole round taking place across a single mid-week, the third round will be held across two weeks of midweek fixtures due to the impact of the extended European group stages.
As a result, this has seen a change to how the third round draw is worked and it will actually be held over two stages.
This will see Tottenham be included in ‘Bowl 1’ alongside Manchester United and the Champions League qualifiers, meanwhile, the 26 other teams involved in Wednesday’s draw will be drawn from ‘Bowl 2’.
When is the Carabao Cup third-round draw?
The Carabao Cup third-round draw will be held on Wednesday, August 28, at the City Ground before and after the second-round tie between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.
Stage one of the draw will take place before the match live on Sky Sports, with the second stage coming following the conclusion of the tie after 10 pm.
Carabao Cup third-round draw explained
The first part of the draw will contain the six Premier League teams competing in the Champions League and Europa League this season.
This includes Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United – who will be placed in bowl one and therefore can not be drawn against one another.
Each of those six teams will then be drawn to determine whether they are the home or away side in their six respective ties.
The remaining 26 teams are placed in bowl two and six teams will be drawn out to face one of the European sides.
Though Chelsea are competing in Europe this season in the Europa Conference League, they are between legs in their qualifying campaign so will not be included with the other teams confirmed to be in their respective tournaments.
In the second phase of the draw, the remaining 20 teams in ‘Bowl 2’ will be drawn as normal to determine the rest of the round’s fixtures.
Potential Tottenham opponents in the Carabao Cup
The second-round ties will be competed on August 27 and August 28, with the ball numbers for the draw confirmed on Wednesday morning. Here are the second-round ties. Tottenham can face any of these teams as well as Chelsea.
Tuesday, August 27:
- Middlesbrough vs Stoke City
- Barnsley vs Sheffield United
- Barrow vs Derby County
- Blackburn Rovers vs Blackpool
- Brighton vs Crawley
- Coventry City vs Oxford United
- Everton vs Doncaster Rovers
- Fleetwood vs Rotherham United
- Grimsby Town vs Sheffield Wednesday
- Harrogate Town vs Preston
- Leicester City vs Tranmere Rovers
- Millwall vs Leyton Orient
- QPR vs Luton
- Shrewsbury Town vs Bolton
- Walsall vs Huddersfield Town
- Watford vs Plymouth
- Birmingham City vs Fulham
- Crystal Palace vs Norwich City
Wednesday, August 28
- Wolves vs Burnley
- AFC Wimbledon vs Ipswich
- Cardiff vs Southampton
- Colchester United vs Brentford
- Swansea vs Wycombe Wanderers
- West Ham vs Bournemouth
- Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle
Carabao Cup schedule
- Round Three: 18 & 25 September
- Round Four: 30 October
- Quarter-Final: 18 December
- Semi-Final: 8 January (first leg) & 5 February (second leg)
- Final: 16 March
Where is the Carabao Cup final?
The Carabao Cup final will take place at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham’s former home ground, and be held on March 16, 2025.
Have Tottenham won the Carabao Cup before?
Tottenham have won the League Cup four times, with the last of those victories coming in 2008 when the Lilywhites defeated arch-rivals Chelsea 2-1 after extra time.
That 2008 triumph was the last time Spurs tasted silverware and Ange Postecoglou will be looking to put an end to that trophy drought this season.
Tottenham’s four League Cup triumphs came in 1970/1971, 1972/1973, 1998/1999, and 2007/2008.
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