New Carabao Cup rule changes with impact on Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham

The Carabao Cup is back this week with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham keeping a close eye on proceedings.

With all three clubs in European action this season, they enter the competition at the third round stage, meaning that they will be part of the upcoming draw. They don’t have too long to wait to see who they may face.

Both Arsenal and Tottenham made it to the semi-final stage of the tournament last season, falling to defeat to Newcastle United and Liverpool respectively. Newcastle went onto beat Liverpool in the showpiece final at Wembley Stadium in March.

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Chelsea also fell to defeat against the eventual winners in the fourth round.

All three teams will be looking to go as far as they can this time around. But, like last year, there will be some changes to the third round draw.

Here is everything you need to know.

When is the draw?

The Carabao Cup third round draw takes place on Wednesday, 27 August, 2025, following the conclusion of the second round match between Grimsby Town and Manchester United. It will be shown live on Sky Sports at around 10pm.

Draw rule changes

Like last year, there will be some changes to the third round draw due the expansion of the European competitions. Scheduling means that teams competing in Europe (apart from Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League) will not be able to face each other in the third round.

Therefore, two separate bowls will be used for the draw, with the eight European teams in one and the remaining 24 clubs in the other. A pre-draw will then take place to find out if the European teams are playing home or away.

The draw will be done live on Sky Sports before the game between Grimsby and Man United.

The first eight ties will then consist of one of the European teams drawn against one of the teams in the other bowl. The remaining eight games will then be drawn from bowl 2 solely.

When will the third round games be played?

The Carabao Cup third round fixtures will take place across two weeks, with the first batch played on the week beginning the 15 September and the second on the week beginning the 22 September.

Will there be extra time in the third round?

No, as with previous rounds of the Carabao Cup, the third round ties will go straight to penalties and no extra time is played if the scores are level after 90 minutes.

There is also no VAR in operation in the third round of the Carabao Cup.