The Carabao Cup third round draw is set to take place on Wednesday evening, and ahead of the official event, we ran a simulated version that produced some intriguing matchups for Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City.
These three clubs are among nine that automatically advanced to the third round due to their participation in European competitions.
Second-round action kicked off on Tuesday night, with several Premier League teams — Sunderland, Leeds, West Ham, and Bournemouth — crashing out of the competition.
In the Championship, Wrexham, Southampton, Millwall, and Swansea made it through to the next stage, while Birmingham and Stoke suffered surprising home losses to newly-promoted League One sides Port Vale and Bradford, respectively.
There are still four fixtures to be played on Wednesday, including Everton hosting League Two side Mansfield, and Manchester United traveling to face Grimsby Town, also of the fourth tier.
The third round draw will follow the conclusion of the United game, broadcast live on Sky Sports at 8pm.
Before that, we conducted our own draw simulation — with some eye-catching results.
Simulated Carabao Cup Third Round Draw
A standout tie from our mock draw is Wrexham’s away game at Premier League title-holders Liverpool. Phil Parkinson’s side earned their place with a penalty shootout win over Hull, followed by a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory against Preston North End.
Elsewhere, Arsenal are drawn away to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, and Manchester City are set for a trip to Burnley in another fascinating clash.
Aston Villa will face Wolves in an all-Premier League showdown, while the winner of Everton vs Mansfield would travel to face a troubled Sheffield Wednesday side, who knocked out Leeds on penalties despite fielding a squad largely made up of young, inexperienced players. Only Jamal Lowe and emergency goalkeeper Ethan Horvath are over the age of 20 in their starting eleven.
Here’s the complete simulated draw:
Grimsby Town/Manchester United vs Barnsley
Swansea City vs Oxford United/Brighton
Newcastle United vs Bradford City
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Cambridge United vs Millwall
Huddersfield Town vs Cardiff City
Fulham/Bristol City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Nottingham Forest vs Lincoln City
Wycombe Wanderers vs Brentford
Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Liverpool vs Wrexham
Sheffield Wednesday vs Everton/Mansfield Town
Chelsea vs Doncaster Rovers
Burnley vs Manchester City
Southampton vs Wigan Athletic
Port Vale vs Reading
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