'Football is finished' - Carabao Cup draw has fans raging as Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal all avoid each other

On Wednesday evening, the EFL announced the fixture list for the third round of the Carabao Cup with the Premier League's 'Big Six' avoiding clashes against each other. However, fans are not happy with a few fixture selection rules that were put in place ahead of the draw, which ensured that any club playing European football would not be drawn against each other and instead would play a round two winner.

@JSB93x on X criticised the draw and said: "Football is finished. Favours the top teams in so many ways. Here is another prime example of the corruptness, bending over for them!"

@JuceeRob said: "Shambolic draw with PL teams guaranteed home advantage. Undermined the fairness of a normal cup draw."

@themkjones reiterated the fans' views: "This Carabao cup draw is a disgrace. The so called ‘big’ sides now not only get a bye into the third round the majority just got given a home draw as well as not being able to face each other. Not acceptable and needs more condemnation."

@rob_davies said: "Can anyone explain why it would make any difference to “scheduling” if the European clubs got drawn together or is this just a daft way to engineer a way to keep the bigger clubs in the cup for longer?"

@ZaynafamilyMary said: "The integrity of the competition is in tatters when the “big clubs” are protected from playing each other and cushioned with home ties. It’s getting to the point of why should the rest of the participants bother when they are only padding in the boring charade."

After the draw allocation almost all of the Premier League clubs have avoided a draw against fellow league sides with Arne Slot's Liverpool being the only 'Big Six' side to play against a rival as they take on West Ham. Manchester United will host Barnsley, while Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea will host Watford, Bolton and Barrow, respectively to close out the draws.

Carabao Cup Round Three fixtures will take place on 16 September and 23 September. The additional dates required in the calendar for European competitions are a result of an increased number of games for the 2024-25 season.