Major change to Carabao Cup in desperate bid to avoid Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Co facing each other

THE EFL are reportedly set to make a major change to the Carabao Cup to avoid fixture congestion.

Proposed changes would prevent the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea from facing each other.

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According to , the EFL have been forced to adopt a "seeding mechanism" to ease the fixture pile-up next season.

The change will prevent clubs playing in the Champions League and Europa League from meeting when they enter the competition.

Full criteria for the new seeding system is yet to be finalised, though, with the 2024/25 Carabao Cup scheduled to begin in mid-August.

Meanwhile, the third round will now be played over two weeks to further ease congestion.

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Further changes could still be made from the fifth round onwards, the report adds, in the event of more clashes with European competition.

Chelsea's involvement in the Conference League will also impact the Carabao Cup third round, with the league stage starting at a later date.

Clubs had previously warned they may be forced to field their kids in the Carabao Cup due to potential fixture congestion next term.

Speaking last month, Pep Guardiola explained: "Next season, when we play in the Champions League, hopefully we will qualify, it is the same week as the Carabao Cup.

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"How are we going to play? Will we play EDS [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? It’s unsustainable."

Replays have already been scrapped from the first round of the FA Cup onwards.

The expansions of European competitions and the Club World Cup have prompted the move in a bid to deal with teams playing more matches.

However, the EFL have so far refused to ditch their two-legged semi-finals in the Carabao Cup.