Carabao Cup 2024-25
About Carabao Cup 2024-25
The EFL Cup (English Football League Cup), also called the Carabao Cup, is an annual knockout tournament in England’s domestic football circuit. It is played by teams from the top four levels of English league football, i.e., the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. This year, all 92 sides are participating in the Carabao Cup.
Carabao Cup History and Records
The Carabao Cup was originally conceived by Stanley Rous as a consolation award for teams losing the FA Cup. However, it was actually implemented by Football League Secretary Alan Hardaker. The tournament was intended to compensate clubs for the revenue lost when they were knocked out of the FA Cup.
The first winners of the Carabao Cup were Aston Villa, defeating Rotterham United 3-2 in a two-legged final. Liverpool have the most number of Carabao Cups (10), followed by Manchester City (8) and Manchester United (6). Chelsea and Aston Villa make up the top five winners’ list with five trophies each.
Here is a list of all the Carabao Cups and their winners.
| Year | Champion | Manager |
| 23/24 | Liverpool FC | Jürgen Klopp |
| 22/23 | Manchester United | Erik ten Hag |
| 21/22 | Liverpool FC | Jürgen Klopp |
| 20/21 | Manchester City | Pep Guardiola |
| 19/20 | Manchester City | Pep Guardiola |
| 18/19 | Manchester City | Pep Guardiola |
| 17/18 | Manchester City | Pep Guardiola |
| 16/17 | Manchester United | José Mourinho |
| 15/16 | Manchester City | Manuel Pellegrini |
| 14/15 | Chelsea FC | José Mourinho |
| 13/14 | Manchester City | Manuel Pellegrini |
| 12/13 | Swansea City | Michael Laudrup |
| 11/12 | Liverpool FC | Kenny Dalglish |
| 10/11 | Birmingham City | Alex McLeish |
| 09/10 | Manchester United | Alex Ferguson |
| 08/09 | Manchester United | Alex Ferguson |
| 07/08 | Tottenham Hotspur | Juande Ramos |
| 06/07 | Chelsea FC | José Mourinho |
| 05/06 | Manchester United | Alex Ferguson |
| 04/05 | Chelsea FC | José Mourinho |
| 03/04 | Middlesbrough FC | Steve McClaren |
| 02/03 | Liverpool FC | Gérard Houllier |
| 01/02 | Blackburn Rovers | Graeme Souness |
| 00/01 | Liverpool FC | Gérard Houllier |
| 99/00 | Leicester City | Martin O'Neill |
| 98/99 | Tottenham Hotspur | George Graham |
| 97/98 | Chelsea FC | Gianluca Vialli |
| 96/97 | Leicester City | Martin O'Neill |
| 95/96 | Aston Villa | Brian Little |
| 94/95 | Liverpool FC | Roy Evans |
| 93/94 | Aston Villa | Ron Atkinson |
| 92/93 | Arsenal FC | George Graham |
| 91/92 | Manchester United | Alex Ferguson |
| 90/91 | Sheffield Wednesday | Ron Atkinson |
| 89/90 | Nottingham Forest | Brian Clough |
| 88/89 | Nottingham Forest | Brian Clough |
| 87/88 | Luton Town | Ray Harford |
| 86/87 | Arsenal FC | George Graham |
| 85/86 | Oxford United | Maurice Evans |
| 84/85 | Norwich City | Ken Brown |
| 83/84 | Liverpool FC | Joe Fagan |
| 82/83 | Liverpool FC | Bob Paisley |
| 81/82 | Liverpool FC | Bob Paisley |
| 80/81 | Liverpool FC | Bob Paisley |
| 79/80 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | John Barnwell |
| 78/79 | Nottingham Forest | Brian Clough |
| 77/78 | Nottingham Forest | Brian Clough |
| 76/77 | Aston Villa | Ron Saunders |
| 75/76 | Manchester City | Tony Book |
| 74/75 | Aston Villa | Ron Saunders |
| 73/74 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Bill McGarry |
| 72/73 | Tottenham Hotspur | Bill Nicholson |
| 71/72 | Stoke City | Tony Waddington |
| 70/71 | Tottenham Hotspur | Bill Nicholson |
| 69/70 | Manchester City | Joe Mercer |
| 68/69 | Swindon Town | Danny Williams |
| 67/68 | Leeds United | Don Revie |
| 66/67 | Queens Park Rangers | Alec Stock |
| 65/66 | West Bromwich Albion | |
| 64/65 | Chelsea FC | |
| 63/64 | Leicester City | Matt Gillies |
| 62/63 | Birmingham City | Gil Merrick |
| 61/62 | Norwich City | Willie Reid |
| 60/61 | Aston Villa | Joe Mercer |
Ian Rush, with 49 goals in 80 games, is the highest goalscorer in the history of the Carabao Cup. Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Brian Clough are the managers with the most Carabao Cups with four each.
Carabao Cup 2024-25 Host
The 2024-25 edition of the Carabao Cup is its 65th edition of the tournament. Like every season, England will host the tournament and all matches will be held in the country.
Carabao Cup 2024-25 Format
The Carabao Cup 2024-25 will have 92 sides from the top four divisions of English Football. 22 of the 24 Championship clubs and all League One and League Two clubs will participate in the first round. In the next round, the remaining Championship clubs (i.e., the ones which finished 18th and 19th in the 2023-24 Premier League season) and the Premier League sides that are not playing European football (i.e., the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Conference League) will entyer.
Here is the entire format of the Carabao Cup 2024-25 in tabular form:
| Clubs entering in this round | Clubs advancing from previous round | Number of games | Main date | |
| First round (70 clubs) | · 24 clubs from EFL League Two · 24 clubs from EFL League One · 22 clubs from EFL Championship | · N/A | 35 | 13 August 2024 |
| Second round(50 clubs) | · 2 clubs from EFL Championship · 13 Premier League clubs (not involved in European competitions) | · 35 winners from first round | 25 | 27 August 2024 |
| Third round(32 clubs) | · 7 Premier League clubs (involved in European competitions) | · 25 winners from second round | 16 | 17 September 202424 September 2024 |
| Fourth round(16 clubs) | — | · 16 winners from third round | 8 | 30 October 2024 |
| Quarter-finals(8 clubs) | — | · 8 winners from fourth round | 4 | 18 December 2024 |
| Semi-finals(4 clubs) | — | · 4 winners from quarter-finals | 4 (two-legged) | 6 January 20253 February 2025 |
| Final(2 clubs) | — | · 2 winners from semi-finals | 1 | 16 March 2025 |
Carabao Cup 2024-25 Schedule
Here is the detailed schedule of the Carabao Cup 2024-25.
First Round Fixtures
North Section
| Date | Fixture |
| 13 August 2024 | Carlisle United vs. Stoke City |
| 13 August 2024 | Stockport County vs. Blackburn Rovers |
| 13 August 2024 | Barrow vs. Port Vale |
| 13 August 2024 | Bolton Wanderers vs. Mansfield Town |
| 13 August 2024 | Burton Albion vs. Blackpool |
| 13 August 2024 | Derby County vs. Chesterfield |
| 13 August 2024 | Fleetwood Town vs. West Brom |
| 13 August 2024 | Grimsby Town vs. Bradford City |
| 13 August 2024 | Huddersfield Town vs. Morecambe |
| 13 August 2024 | Lincoln City vs. Harrogate Town |
| 13 August 2024 | Preston North End vs. Sunderland |
| 13 August 2024 | Rotherham United vs. Crewe Alexandra |
| 13 August 2024 | Salford City vs. Doncaster Rovers |
| 13 August 2024 | Shrewsbury Town vs. Notts County |
| 13 August 2024 | Tranmere Rovers vs. Accrington Stanley |
| 13 August 2024 | Wigan Athletic vs. Barnsley |
| 13 August 2024 | Sheffield United vs. Wrexham |
| 14 August 2024 | Hull City vs. Sheffield Wednesday |
| 14 August 2024 | Leeds United vs. Middlesbrough |
South Section
| Date | Fixture |
| 13 August 2024 | Leyton Orient vs. Newport County |
| 13 August 2024 | Bristol City vs. Coventry City |
| 13 August 2024 | Bromley vs. AFC Wimbledon |
| 13 August 2024 | Cambridge United vs. QPR |
| 13 August 2024 | Cardiff City vs. Bristol Rovers |
| 13 August 2024 | Charlton Athletic vs. Birmingham City |
| 13 August 2024 | Colchester United vs. Reading |
| 13 August 2024 | Crawley Town vs. Swindon Town |
| 13 August 2024 | Northampton Town vs. Wycombe Wanderers |
| 13 August 2024 | Norwich City vs. Stevenage |
| 13 August 2024 | Oxford United vs. Peterborough United |
| 13 August 2024 | Portsmouth vs. Millwall |
| 13 August 2024 | Swansea City vs. Gillingham |
| 13 August 2024 | Walsall vs. Exeter City |
| 13 August 2024 | Watford vs. MK Dons |
| 14 August 2024 | Plymouth Argyle vs. Cheltenham Town |
Second Round fixtures
North Section:
| Date | Fixture |
| Aug 27 | Middlesbrough vs. Stoke City |
| Aug 27 | Barnsley vs. Sheffield United |
| Aug 27 | Barrow vs. Derby County |
| Aug 27 | Blackburn Rovers vs. Blackpool |
| Aug 27 | Everton vs. Doncaster Rovers |
| Aug 27 | Fleetwood Town vs. Rotherham United |
| Aug 27 | Grimsby Town vs. Sheffield Wednesday |
| Aug 27 | Harrogate Town vs. Preston |
| Aug 27 | Leicester City vs. Tranmere Rovers |
| Aug 27 | Shrewsbury Town vs. Bolton |
| Aug 27 | Walsall vs. Huddersfield Town |
| Aug 28 | Wolves vs. Burnley |
| Aug 28 | Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle United * |
South Section:
| Date | Fixture |
| Aug 27 | Brighton vs. Crawley Town |
| Aug 27 | Coventry City vs. Oxford United |
| Aug 27 | Millwall vs. Leyton Orient |
| Aug 27 | QPR vs. Luton Town |
| Aug 27 | Watford vs. Plymouth Argyle |
| Aug 27 | Birmingham City vs. Fulham |
| Aug 27 | Crystal Palace vs. Norwich City |
| Aug 28 | Wimbledon vs. Ipswich Town |
| Aug 28 | Cardiff City vs. Southampton |
| Aug 28 | Colchester United vs. Brentford |
| Aug 28 | Swansea City vs. Wycombe Wanderers |
| Aug 28 | West Ham vs. Bournemouth |
Third Round fixtures:
| Date | Fixture |
| Sep 17 | Stoke City vs. Fleetwood Town |
| Sep 17 | Blackpool vs. Sheffield Wednesday |
| Sep 17 | Brentford vs. Leyton Orient |
| Sep 17 | Everton vs. Southampton |
| Sep 17 | Preston North End vs. Fulham |
| Sep 17 | QPR vs. Crystal Palace |
| Sep 17 | Manchester United vs. Barnsley |
| Sep 18 | Brighton vs. Wolves |
| Sep 18 | Coventry City vs. Tottenham |
| Sep 24 | Chelsea vs. Barrow |
| Sep 24 | Manchester City vs. Watford |
| Sep 24 | Walsall vs. Leicester City |
| Sep 24 | Wycombe Wanderers vs. Aston Villa |
| Sep 25 | Arsenal vs. Bolton Wanderers |
| Sep 25 | Liverpool vs. West Ham |
| Oct 1 | Newcastle United vs. Wimbledon |
Fourth Round fixtures:
| Date | Fixture |
| Oct 29 | Southampton vs. Stoke City |
| Oct 29 | Brentford vs. Sheffield Wednesday |
| Oct 30 | Brighton vs. Liverpool |
| Oct 30 | Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace |
| Oct 30 | Manchester United vs. Leicester City |
| Oct 30 | Newcastle United vs. Chelsea |
| Oct 30 | Preston vs. Arsenal |
| Oct 30 | Tottenham vs. Manchester City |
Quarter Final fixtures:
| Date | Fixture |
| Dec 18 | Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace |
| Dec 18 | Newcastle vs. Brentford |
| Dec 18 | Southampton vs. Liverpool |
| Dec 19 | Tottenham vs. Man Utd |
Semi Final fixtures:
First Leg:
| Date | Fixture |
| Jan 7 | Arsenal vs. Newcastle |
| Jan 8 | Tottenham vs. Liverpool |
Second Leg:
| Date | Fixture |
| Feb 5 | Newcastle vs. Arsenal |
| Feb 6 | Liverpool vs. Tottenham |
Final
| Game: | Newcastle vs Liverpool |
| Date: | March 16, 2025 |
| Venue: | Wembley Stadium, London |
Carabao Cup 2024 Teams and Groups
All 92 teams from the top four divisions of English football are participating in the Carabao Cup 2024-25. These include teams from the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.
Carabao Cup 2024-25 Sponsors and Partners
Carabao Energy Drink has been the title sponsors of the tournament (originally called EFL Cup) since 2017.
FAQs on Carabao Cup 2024-25
A. The Carabao Cup 2024-25 will be held in England.
A. A total of 92 teams will participate in the Carabao Cup 2024-25.
A. With 49 goals in 80 games, Ian Rush is the highest goalscorer in the history of the Carabao Cup
