Carabao

The English Football League has criticised the “undermining” of the Carabao Cup after it was forced to compromise on the date of Crystal Palace’s quarter-final because of fixture congestion.

Palace will now face Arsenal in the last eight at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 23 December at 20:00 GMT.

The other three quarter-finals take place the previous week but the Eagles’ commitments in the Uefa Conference League – they host Finnish club KuPS at Selhurst Park on 18 December – has left them with four games in nine days.

Palace host Manchester City on 14 December and are away to Leeds on 21 December, either side of the KuPS game.

A statement from the EFL was critical of the “expansion of European cup competitions” which it believes was “implemented without adequate consultation with domestic leagues”.

The EFL said it had “shown a willingness to compromise” but scheduling conflicts are “now entirely unavoidable”.

“To continue making endless concessions only serves to undermine the reputation of the EFL Cup,” said the statement.

“It also challenges the traditional scheduling of the English football calendar and strength of our domestic game.”

Uefa’s European calendar now stretches across 10 midweeks, rather than the six of two seasons ago, with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League each given a standalone week for exposure.

It has caused a huge logistical headache, with the third round of the EFL Cup having to be seeded and played across two weeks to keep clubs in the Champions League and Europa League apart.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner said last week it would be “irresponsible” if the club were forced to play two games in three days.

The EFL said it shared the “frustration and concern” of managers and players concerning the congested programme which deprived clubs of the “necessary time for preparation” and ability to “field their strongest line-ups” in the EFL Cup.

The Premier League recently blamed the increased number of European fixtures for there being just one game on 26 December in the English top flight.

Boxing Day fixtures have been a long-standing tradition in English football but this year the only Premier League game will be Manchester United’s home match with Newcastle United (20:00 GMT).

Premier League champions Liverpool will play FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Holders Newcastle United host Tottenham in another all-Premier League tie while Arsenal, who have not won the competition since 1993, face Brighton.

Grimsby Town, the only League Two side still standing and conquerors of Manchester United, get another home tie against Premier League Brentford.

And with three Welsh sides in the last 16 for the first time, it was perhaps inevitable there would be an all-Welsh clash as Wrexham host Cardiff City, with 2013 winners Swansea handed a tie against Manchester City.

It will be the first meeting between Wrexham and Cardiff since 2002.

CHELSEA forward Marc Guiu has been named as eligible for the EFL Cup thanks to a little-known rule change.

The teenager spent a short-lived spell with Sunderland on loan earlier this season but was recalled before the transfer deadline.

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He scored for the Black Cats in their EFL Cup exit to Huddersfield while with the club, an appearance that was believed to have made him ineligible for future EFL cup games this season.

However, a rule change for the 2025/26 season changed the laws to allow a player to turn out for two different clubs in the same campaign.

But Chelsea themselves were reportedly not aware that the Spaniard was able to play in their cup match with Lincoln City on Tuesday, and he has been left out of the squad.

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Scott Parker’s team have beaten Derby County in this season’s Carabao Cup after entering at the second-round stage, while Cardiff have seen off Swindon and Cheltenham to set up the trip to Lancashire.

“I am really excited to go to a Premier League team in a competition where we have produced really good performances,” Barry-Murphy added.

“It’s a good test for our players. Burnley have a super-talented squad and to test ourselves in that stadium against them will be very good for us.”

Cardiff have fitness concerns over Ronan Kpakio, who came off during the Bradford loss with a foot problem, and Dylan Lawlor, who missed the Bantams’ visit with a groin injury.

“We have a group we really believe in,” Barry-Murphy said. “We will see who is OK and then pick a team.”

Amorim spoke in the summer about how emotional he gets on occasion. He vowed to be less forthright during his media commitments.

Some sympathy also has to be offered for the fact he was having to speak on the pitch with the backdrop of still gleeful Grimsby fans telling him he was going to be “sacked in the morning”.

Yet Amorim’s words do not smack of a renewed determination to deliver success to Old Trafford, just as his actions during the shootout did not give the impression of someone leading from the front.

And that is a problem.

For United’s restructure has been built around his famed system.

While it is fair to say Jadon Sancho and Antony did not have many supporters among the United fanbase and patience with Marcus Rashford was also wearing thin, those players’ values has reduced as the club have looked to move them on because Amorim does not play with conventional wide-men.

Amorim had been praised by some for his hardline stance with Alejandro Garnacho, and the Argentina international’s behaviour since he was exiled has not done him many favours.

But it is not that long ago that Garnacho, now in talks with Chelsea, was viewed as the future of United.

The same is also true of England international Kobbie Mainoo, who feels marginalised to such an extent that if a decent offer came in for him from a club he liked, he would be willing to leave, despite being a local boy and a childhood United fan.

Given a start at Grimsby after not playing for a single minute in the opening two Premier League games, Mainoo was left on for the full 90 minutes.

He didn’t produce a display that demanded repeated selection. But neither was he the worst player on the pitch.

To many, if the system is the reason why 20-year-old Mainoo may leave, the system needs changing. Amorim has said Mainoo is in contention with skipper Bruno Fernandes for a starting spot in the league.

The United boss felt his method of playing at Sporting, with three central defenders, two wing-backs, two central midfielders, two number 10s and a central striker, was the reason for his success.

This may be true. He was also at a club famed for developing highly talented young players in a league far less physically demanding than he has encountered in England, and where the competition, other than a couple of notable exceptions in Benfica and Porto, is typically limited.

On Sunday at Fulham, Silva explained clearly the tweak to his side’s formation that allowed Fulham to take control of the midfield area and turn a game that had threatened to get away from them in the early stages.

The game didn’t race away from Fulham because United failed to take their chances, a problem that Amorim repeatedly complained about last season.

This is why he spent £200m on attacking players this summer.

Matheus Cunha has looked a decent buy. If the Brazilian had converted his spot-kick in the shootout at Grimsby, United’s blushes would have been spared.

Yet his shot was saved, Bryan Mbeumo missed the decisive penalty, and it was surprising to many that Benjamin Sesko – the third of the expensive attacking additions – was the last outfield player to step forward for United.

There would still have been big questions to answer if Amorim’s side had managed to sneak through to round three.

At clubs like United, performances like this do not get brushed under the carpet. The noise around them is too loud for that to happen.

Amorim will speak to the media on Friday on the eve of his team’s home game against Burnley. Victory against the Clarets will be expected but it certainly is not guaranteed.

Beyond that, no-one can be sure what the future looks like for United.

Carabao Cup holders Newcastle will start the defence of their crown at home to League One Bradford in the third round.

League Two Grimsby Town will travel to Championship Sheffield Wednesday after shocking Manchester United in a spectacular penalty shootout win at Blundell Park.

Manchester City will take on League One Huddersfield Town at the Accu Stadium while Arsenal will travel to Port Vale.

Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, who were beaten in last season’s final, will host Championship Southampton, while Chelsea have been handed a trip to Lincoln City.

Brentford will host Aston Villa and Wolves will welcome Everton in the two all-Premier League ties.

The eight teams in the Champions League and Europa League – Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa – were seeded to avoid scheduling clashes.

Crystal Palace were not included in the seeding because the Conference League league phase does not get under way until October.

The third round fixtures will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September with Champions League and Europa League fixtures also scheduled during this period.

EVERTON’S Carabao Cup clash with Mansfield Town has been delayed.

The Toffees announced that the game has been pushed back by 15 minutes to allow fans “safe access” in time for kick off.

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Everton are hosting Mansfield at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, having played their first competitive match at the ground at the weekend.

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Grimsby Town vs Manchester United

IPSWICH TOWN were unbelievably forced to hold their half-time team-talk on their team BUS due to a plumbing issue during their Carabao Cup clash with Bromley.

Championship outfit Ipswich travelled to Hayes Lane to take on League Two side Bromley in the first round of the competition.

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Kieran McKenna‘s side had been playing in the Premier League last season, lining up in stadiums like Old Trafford and the Emirates in front of tens of thousands of fans.

But the Tractor Boys were slapped in the face by the reality of the football pyramid when they found themselves taking on Bromley in their 1,300-seat Hayes Lane ground.

That reality hit even harder when they went in trailing 1-0 at half-time, only to be told they had to hold their team talk on their team bus due to plumbing problems in the changing rooms.

Their squad, which featured the likes of Ashley Young and Ben Johnson, had to cram onto the bus just so that they could use the toilet.

However, the unusual circumstances didn’t seem to immediately bother the travelling team as they came out swinging in the second half.

Former West Ham man Johnson netted an equaliser just nine minutes after the break.

That was only enough to force penalties as Bromley held firm to keep the game tied at a goal a piece.

Incredibly, Bromley seemingly pulled off the impossible as they came out on top in the test of nerves from 12 yards – knocking out their heavyweight opposition on a historic night for the club.

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The result will have been a frustration for pop superstar Ed Sheeran, a minority owner of Ipswich, who had made the journey to watch the game from the stands.

The first round of the Carabao Cup had already thrown up some madness throughout the evening.

Tranmere Rovers’ tie against Burton Albion was postponed because of a power cut at Prenton Park.

The clash was called off just 26 minutes before kick-off after a Scottish Power outage had left Tranmere unable to operate any tills, floodlights and some of the turnstiles.

Elsewhere Bradford City fans were hit by travel delays after a COW shut down the motorway en route to their tie against Blackburn.

A photo taken at the scene saw a marked vehicle attempting to guide the cow safely off the M62.

However, the animal’s wellbeing came at the expense of Bradford fans, who were left pressed for time ahead of a 7.45pm kick-off.

Many were left in gridlocked traffic as their movements ground to a halt.

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