In addition to silverware, the winner is also guaranteed a playoff round berth in the following season’s Europa Conference League, one of Europe’s top three club competitions. If the winner has already landed a berth in the Champions League or Europa League — which is the likely case with Chelsea and Liverpool barring an epic collapse in the Premier League — this berth will go to the next team in the Premier League standings.
Manchester City was the former holder of the trophy, having won it during four straight seasons and six of the past eight. But the Citizens will be handing off the silverware in 2022 after suffering elimination in the Round of 16 to West Ham.
A total of 92 clubs from the top four divisions in English football compete for the Carabao Cup: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (22), League One (24) and League Two (24). The English Premier League clubs joined in the second round, with those Premier League teams involved in European competitions joining in the third round.
Carabao Cup Final
The first edition of the Carabao Cup was held in the 1960-1961 season and the trophy has been handed out in 61 straight years. Man City (8) and Liverpool (8) share the all-time lead for most titles. The last time a team outside the top tier won the trophy was Sheffield Wednesday, which upset Manchester United in the 1991 final.
How to watch the Carabao Cup
Dates: July 31, 2021, to Feb. 27, 2022 TV Channels: None Streaming: ESPN+
The Carabao Cup is carried exclusively in the USA by ESPN via its streaming platform, ESPN+, and every match beginning with the Round of 16 was available to be streamed. Select matches in the Third Round were also broadcast.
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Why is it called the Carabao Cup?
Carabao is an energy drink produced in Thailand and distributed worldwide, and it became the competition’s title sponsor beginning with the 2017-18 edition.
Since the tournament’s inception, it was popularly known as the League Cup because it involved all the teams that played in the English football leagues. That explains the “EFL Cup” moniker that’s also often used, with EFL standing for ‘English Football League.’
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Carabao Cup draw, fixtures & results
The tournament was played in a straight single-game knockout format except for the semifinals, which were decided over a two-leg, aggregate goal series.
First Round: Tues/Wed, Aug. 10/11 Second Round: Tues/Wed, Aug. 24/25 Third Round (Round of 32): Tues/Wed, Sept. 21/22 Fourth Round (Round of 16): Tues/Wed, Oct. 26/27 Quarterfinals: Tues/Wed, Dec. 21/22 Semifinals, Leg 1: Wed, Jan. 5 & Thurs, Jan. 13 Semifinals, Leg 2: Wed, Jan. 12 & Thurs, Jan. 20 Final: Sun, Feb. 27
The results from previous rounds below. Home teams are listed first and winners in bold.
Carabao Cup Results 2021-22
Lower division teams are noted in parentheses: CH = Championship (second tier), L1 = League One (third tier), L2 = League Two (fourth tier).
