The Carabao Cup will undergo a format shake-up ahead of next season in a bid to avoid fixture congestion at the start of the tournament, according to reports.
The domestic competition has at times struggled to pull focus from the Premier League top flight in its early stages, with Pep Guardiola once claiming that he had been told that ‘nobody cares’ about the league cup upon his arrival at Manchester City.
Under Guardiola, the tournament has been won by the English champions four times, but the Catalan manager offered an ominous warning at the end of last month that he might consider fielding a weakened side due to an impending clash.
The Champions League is gearing up to launch its newly expanded format for the 2024-25 campaign, which will see one of the group stage rounds directly conflict with Carabao Cup matches provisionally scheduled for the same week.
With Europa League clubs also set to be affected by the schedule, the tournament is set to adopt a ‘seeding mechanism’ to ease potential congestion.
Next season’s Carabao Cup competition will see the introduction of a ‘seeding mechanism’
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola previously warned about the possibility of clashes
As per Telegraph Sport, teams will be ranked to ensure that sides playing in the Champions League do not face sides playing in the Europa League.
Additionally, third-round Carabao Cup fixtures will be spread over two weeks, to ensure that they can be completed in a timely fashion.
The EFL is thought to be waiting to see if further clashes will impact the fifth round of the competition before making a decision about further necessary tweaks.
Unlike the FA Cup, which is contentiously scrapping replays next term, the Carabao Cup has decided not to discard its two-legged semi-finals, which adds further pressure for teams competing across multiple fronts.
Guardiola drew attention to the impending issue after his City side’s FA Cup semi-final victory against Chelsea, hinting that he would go as far as fielding Man City’s reserve side in the case of a direct conflict.
‘Next season when we play the (expanded) Champions League, is the same week as the Carabao Cup. How are we going to play?’ Guardiola said on the heels of a threat that he would protest additional media responsibilities under congested conditions.
‘Will we play the Elite Development Squad in the Carabao Cup? After next season we go to the Club World Cup.
‘We are incredibly happy, a lot of money, incredibly prestigious. But how many days do I give off to the players?
‘Two weeks off and start the season again. It’s unsustainable.’
Five seasons ago, Liverpool were forced to field a junior side in the competition due to conflict with the Club World Cup
Neil Critchley (pictured) was in the dugout while Jurgen Klopp was facing Monterrey in Qatar
Should fixtures continue to clash, clubs could be forced into the position Liverpool were placed in five seasons ago, when Jurgen Klopp and his first team opted to play Monterrey in the Club World Cup – and field the Reds youngest-ever starting XI in their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa.
The junior Reds – which included current senior team starlet Harvey Elliott – were duly thrased 5-0 by their Premier League opposition, with under-23s coach Neil Critchley watching on from the dugout.
‘Try telling those players it was a bad evening for them,’ Critchley said after the final whistle. ‘My overwhelming feeling was one of immense pride.’
‘This was decided by the club as the best solution. We are the beneficiaries of the success of the first team and we could not have done much more.’