Carabao Cup 2020-21: Fixtures, teams, draw dates & all you need to know

All 92 clubs competing in the Premier League and the English Football League enter the 2020-21 Carabao Cup, with participation distributed across the divisions.

The competition will be played over seven rounds, with single-leg ties throughout. The previous two-legged tie for the semi-final was scrapped in favour of one.

In round one, the draw was split into northern and southern clubs with 22 Championship sides and all League One and League Two clubs entering.

The Carabao Cup 2020-21 final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Sunday April 25, 2021. It will kick off at 4pm GMT (11am ET)

It had originally been scheduled for February 28, 2021, but the EFL made the decision to rearrange the date in order to increase the chances of supporters being able to attend.

A statement released in December confirmed the news, saying: “It is the objective of the League to stage the final with as many supporters in attendance as possible and the decision has therefore been taken to move the final from its original date of Sunday February 28, 2021 to later in the year.

“The number of fans permitted will be dependent on government guidance in place at the time and it is hoped that moving the date to later in the year will give clubs and their fans the best opportunity to attend in person.”

The Carabao Cup 2020-21 semi-finals were played on January 4 and 5, 2021, with the ties contested over one leg rather than two to help with fixture congestion.

Tottenham booked their place in the final after seeing off Championship side Brentford with a 2-0 win in north London.

They were joined in the final by defending champions Manchester City, who overcame Manchester United at Old Trafford in a huge derby encounter.

The quarter-final ties were played the week starting December 21.

Manchester City compounded Mikel Arteta’s woes by inflicting a 4-1 defeat on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, closing off a potential avenue for redemption for the Gunners boss.

They were to be joined in the final four by local rivals Manchester United, who scored two late goals to see of Everton.

Championship promotion contenders Brentford sprung a surprise by beating Newcastle United.

Tottenham also faced Championship opposition in the form of Stoke City, beating them 3-1 at the bet365 Stadium.

The fourth round ties were played the week commencing September 28.

Tottenham advanced to the quarter-finals over Chelsea through penalty shootout, while Liverpool were outdone by Arsenal in the same manner.

Man Utd beat Brighton 3-0 to progress, while Man City registered victory against Burnley by the same scoreline.

The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were automatically registered for the third round due to their participation in European competitions.

Fifty teams were involved in round two of the Carabao Cup, including Premier League clubs that are not participating in European competition.

Like previous years, the draw was again split into ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ sections. The draw for the second round was made on September 6.

Seventy clubs participated in the first round, with 24 teams from League Two (tier four), 24 from League One (tier three), and 22 from the Championship (tier two).

The draw was divided between ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ sections. Teams were drawn against a team from the same section.

In the United Kingdom, the Carabao Cup will be broadcast and live-streamed on Sky Sports.

In the United States, the competition will be shown on ESPN channels.

If both teams are level after the end of full-time during the second leg of either of the semi-final ties, the game will go directly to a penalty shoot-out with a  no away goals rule implemented – a rule which began in 2018-19.

Previously, the away-goal rule was used in the semi-final stage in the same manner as it is in the Champions League knockout rounds. If, for instance, the away team scored a goal in the first leg that ended in a 1-1 draw, with the second leg ending 0-0, then that team would have progressed to the final courtesy of the away-goals rule.

Now, no such rule will be considered and second-leg stalemates will be decided ultimately by a penalty shoot-out.

Why is the League Cup called the Carabao Cup?

Until 2016, the tournament was named the English Football League Cup (EFL Cup) instead of the League Cup, following the rebranding of the Football League to the English Football League.

Officially, the EFL Cup is known as the Carabao Cup due to the energy drink being the tournament’s official sponsors.

Prior to Carabao’s sponsorship of the tournament starting from 2017, the competition was called the EFL Cup (2016-17), the Capital One Cup (2012-13 to 2015-16), the Carling Cup (sponsored by Molson Coors from 2003-04 to 2011-12), the Worthington Cup (sponsored by Worthington’s from 1998-99 to 2002-03), and the Coca-Cola Cup (from 1992-93 to 1997-98).

Liverpool have won the Carabao Cup the most times, winning their eighth in 2012 when they defeated Cardiff City on penalties.

Behind them are Man City, who lifted their seventh Carabao Cup in 2020 when they beat Aston Villa through penalty shootout. Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea have all won the Carabao Cup five times each.

Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have both won the competition four times apiece.

Only lists teams who have won the competition the most times.