Premier League clubs are facing pre-Christmas fixture chaos and having to field weakened sides for the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, with ties scheduled to take place as little as two days after the World Cup final.
The Qatar World Cup concludes on 18 December and Carabao Cup games will be played the week commencing 19 December. The midweek slot before Christmas has always been reserved for the League Cup, though it traditionally hosts round five matches – the calendar has already been pushed back due to scheduling issues, which remain a huge challenge for football’s governing bodies.
i understands there no alternative dates could be found due to Uefa competitions and the winter World Cup, but consideration has been given as much as possible to players who may be featuring in the later stages of the tournament in the Middle East.
Sources told i that the Carabao Cup generates a significant portion of EFL clubs’ revenues thanks to broadcasting deals, sponsorships and matchday gates, with Premier League clubs also benefiting. That is why there is no appetite for postponing the games, despite ongoing debate about the competition’s format and its impact on Premier League sides who are competing on several fronts.
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The top flight will pause after this weekend’s games to allow around a month’s break for the World Cup, before reconvening on Boxing Day.
Yet the cup competition’s return means several clubs will be in action around a week earlier than that. Fourth-round ties would only clash with the World Cup final for a small number of players who reach the showpiece in Doha.
However, there is still little breathing room between the return of domestic action and the rest of the tournament’s schedule. The semi-finals take place across 13-14 December and the third-place play-off is on 17 December. Should England reach the quarter-finals, for example, they would still be competing until at least 9 December.
Bournemouth and Leicester are the two Premier League teams already through to the fourth round, beating Everton and Newport County respectively, while 12 other top-flight clubs are in action on Wednesday night.
The Carabao Cup has previously had to facilitate fixture clashes with other competitions, with Liverpool famously fielding a weakened side against Aston Villa in 2019 as they were required to play the Club World Cup final in Qatar the following day.
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