The Carabao Cup, also known as the League Cup or EFL Cup, is the first major trophy awarded in the English football season and one of three major domestic titles in England alongside the Premier League and FA Cup. In addition to silverware, the winner is also guaranteed a playoff round berth in the following season's Europa Conference League, one of Europe's top three club competitions.
We're at the quarterfinal stage of the 2021-22 Carabao Cup with the four single-elimination quarterfinals happening on Dec. 21-22. Manchester City is the current holder of the trophy, having won it in four straight seasons and six of the past eight. But the Citizens will be handing off the silverware after suffering elimination in the Round of 16 to West Ham.
A total of 92 clubs from the top four divisions in English football compete for the Carabao Cup: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (22), League One (24) and League Two (24). The English Premier League clubs join in the second round, with those Premier League teams involved in European competitions joining in the third round. Here are the last eight teams standing in the quarterfinals:
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The first edition of the Carabao Cup was held in the 1960-1961 season and the trophy has been handed out in 61 straight years. Man City (8) and Liverpool (8) share the all-time lead for most titles. The last time a team outside the top tier won the trophy was Sheffield Wednesday, which upset Manchester United in the 1991 final. Sunderland (third tier) is the only lower division team remaining in the 2021-22 edition.
The Carabao Cup is carried exclusively in the USA by ESPN via its streaming platform, ESPN+, and every match beginning with the Round of 16 is available to be streamed. Select matches in the Third Round were also broadcast.
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There are seven English Premier League teams still alive in the competition. Crystal Palace and Newcastle United were ousted in the second round, while Watford, Everton, Norwich City, Wolves, Aston Villa and Manchester United were eliminated in the third round. Brighton, Burnley, Leeds United, Manchester City and Southampton bowed out in the Round of 16.
Carabao is an energy drink produced in Thailand and distributed worldwide, and it became the competition's title sponsor beginning with the 2017-18 edition.
Since the tournament's inception, it was popularly known as the League Cup because it involved all the teams that played in the English football leagues. That explains the "EFL Cup" moniker that's also often used, with EFL standing for 'English Football League.'
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The tournament is played in a straight single-game knockout format except for the semifinals, which are decided over a two-leg, aggregate goal series. The semifinal draw customarily takes place after the final quarterfinal match is played.
The upcoming schedule is followed by results from previous rounds below. Home teams are listed first and winners in bold. Lower division teams are noted in parentheses: CH = Championship (second tier), L1 = League One (third tier), L2 = League Two (fourth tier).
Below are the results of the previous rounds of the 2021-2022 edition of the competition: