EFL reveal Carabao Cup draw details impacting Newcastle United and Manchester City following Round 3 ‘error’

Newcastle United were runners-up in the Carabao Cup last season - and start this season’s edition of the competition with a very tough draw against a side that lifted the League Cup on four straight occasions between 2018 and 2021. The match between Newcastle United and Manchester City will be shown on Sky Sports and the winner of the tie won’t have to wait long to find out their opponents in Round 4.

The victors will discover who they will face in the next round following the conclusion of the tie with the draw to be conducted live on Sky Sports by ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge and former Lioness Izzy Christiansen. Matches in Round 4 of the Carabao Cup are scheduled to take place in the week commencing October 30.

Both sides will discover which ball number they have been allocated on Wednesday in a process that will be heavily scrutinised by Magpies supporters should their team progress to the next round. Bizarrely, in the draw for Round 3, one that paired them against the current Premier League champions, Newcastle were allocated ball number 20 instead of ball number 19 which was allocated to Norwich City, despite the numbers being allocated in alphabetical order.

The EFL confirmed the error but insisted that the draw was ‘completely valid with no impact to competition integrity.’. Because of their participation in the Champions League, Newcastle’s match against City will be their first outing in the Carabao Cup after being given a bye through Round 2.