Carabao Cup third round draw: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and United learn opponents

Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Sunderland have all been drawn into the Carabao Cup third round, with the Premier League’s European clubs entering the competition for the first time this season.

The nine sides sat out the second round entirely, rejoining the draw alongside the winners of Tuesday night’s ties. Holders City, who defeated Arsenal in last season’s final, headline the list of entrants alongside the Gunners, who will be looking to go one better after falling at the final hurdle in 2023-24.

How the draw worked

A two-stage process was used to determine the third round fixtures. A pre-draw first separated the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs, deciding whether each would be at home or away before the main draw began. Those eight sides were then drawn against teams from a separate bowl, ensuring none of the European clubs could face each other at this stage.

Once the first eight ties involving the European clubs were settled, the remaining eight fixtures were drawn in a conventional format. From the third round onwards, the competition also abandons its Northern and Southern regional split, meaning clubs from any part of England can be paired together regardless of geography.

The draw took place either side of the evening’s second round matches, with Chelsea vs Luton and Fulham vs AFC Wimbledon completing the round’s fixtures.