A Thankfully Brief History of this Competition
For those not familiar with this (yet another) competition offering a glitzy piece of hardware for a club’s trophy case, the Carabao Cup was first awarded back in the 1960-61 season. Back then it was known as the Football League Cup, and is also known as the EFL Cup or the League Cup. Yeah, I know they all sound the same.
Participation is limited to all teams in the top four divisions of English football (Premier, Championship, League 1 and League 2). It is one of the four domestic trophies that can be won in a season but considered the least important, especially compared to the Premier League title or the FA Cup (which is open to all nine divisions of English football).
The competition occurs over seven rounds, with each round comprising a single-elimination game. Except the semi-finals. Why? Hell if I know, but it certainly seems like somebody is trying to milk more revenue. The Carabao Cup winner also gets an automatic qualification into the UEFA Conference League (fun fact: the English league is the only one that has this prize). This juicy carrot with its alluring scent of additional revenue makes the Carabao Cup popular among lower division clubs who hope that with some judicious giant-killing their team can breathe the rarified air of European play.
Just What is a Carabao?
Apparently a carabao can be: a variety of mango, a Thai rock band, and a domesticated swamp-type water buffalo found in the Philippines.

“What does this have to do with an English soccer tournament?” you ask. “Absolutely nothing,” I reply, “except that it’s also the name of a popular Thai energy drink that is exported world-wide.” “Ah! I get it now…” you nod knowingly.
Since 2017, the Thai energy drink Carabao has been the sponsor of this cup. Previous sponsors have included Coca-Cola, Capital One & Carling. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that these all start with ‘C’. But what’s most striking to me is that morbid skull logo with what appears to be a tattoo of a bird on its forehead, or the residual blood from a captive bolt stunner. Is it just me, or does all that seem a wee bit dark?
Then again, it is Halloween. Below I’ve got all the gory details from this week’s fixtures in Round 4.
Southampton 3 – 2 Stoke City
On Tuesday the Championship side Stoke City traveled to the coast and gave the Saints a mighty challenge. It took an 88th minute strike from right-back James Bree to send the stands into rapture. On Wednesday the sobering reality hit: Southampton will have to travel to Liverpool for the next round. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.
Brentford 1 (5) – 1 (4) Sheffield Wednesday
My goodness but it must’ve been tense in the G-tech stadium. Like a prime drop in an Ibiza club at 3am, when the Bees’ Mark Flekken palmed away Liam Palmer’s fifth penalty kick from the lower left corner, the stadium exploded in ecstasy. BOOM. No Round 4 murder victims in this one, and by pulling Newcastle in the next round Brentford have to feel they have a chance to make it all the way.
Brighton & Hove Albion 2 – 3 Liverpool
In typical top team fashion, Liverpool benched many of their A-listers for this fixture, giving Cody Gakpo, Jerell Quansah, Wataru Endo, Tyler Morton, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlaia and 3rd string keeper Vitezslav Jaros the start. Although Brighton made it tense with a late surge after the 80th minute, Gakpo’s masterful early brace and some last-minute magic from Luis Díaz locked the win. Highlights below:
Aston Villa 1 – 2 Crystal Palace
Can a win come at too high a cost? That’s a question Palace will be asking… Eberechi Eze scored in the 8th and was felled in the 18th with a pulled hamstring; Adam Wharton slumped to the turf later that half with an undisclosed issue. Eze’s replacement, Daichi Kamada, bagged the winner in the 64th. Palace only had two shots on goal. That’s all they needed. But the real (and unlikely) hero of the match was backup keeper Matt Turner in his debut game.
Manchester United 5 – 2 Leicester City
Poor Leicester City was on the receiving end of Man U’s managerial-firing bounce, and it was as jolly a rogering as you’ve ever seen. In true Halloween spirit the zombie Casemiro finally resurrected his form, and vampiric captain Bruno Fernades sunk his oversized chompers into the hapless Leicester defenders. Both ended with two goals apiece. The Foxes were feisty but outmatched, and interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooij.
Newcastle United 2 – 0 Chelsea
It’s a common conceit in football that one of the hardest tasks is to beat the same team two games in a row, particularly when those games are back-to-back. On Saturday Newcastle fell to Chelsea in league play; but on this day they were victorious. Chelsea will be aggrieved that despite doubling the Magpies shot totals (attempts and on-targets) and earning eight more corners they struck a goose egg on the scoreboard.
Preston North End 0 – 3 Arsenal
Preston North End must have known their fate was sealed once 17-year old Ethan Nwaneri hit this absolute banger (below). He now has 3 goals in two EFL matches and still hasn’t his A-levels!
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Manchester City
Perhaps more shocking than last year’s league champions bowing out in the 4th round was the fact that Timo Warner was the architect behind Spurs’ first goal in the 5th. When Pepe Sarr made it 2-0 twenty minutes later, Tottenham went full bodyline (look it up) on City, racking up an impressive 17 fouls (but only 3 yellows) over the match.
The Quarter-Finals Fixtures
Our next four Cup matches are scheduled for December 16, with the draw already done.
- Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace
- Newcastle United vs. Brentford
- Southampton vs. Liverpool
- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United
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