Major changes to Carabao Cup announced that could massively favour the biggest clubs

A new 'seeding mechanism' will be introduced to the Carabao Cup in a bid to ease the upcoming fixture congestion prompted by next season's Champions League.

For the first time since 1992, the Champions League format will change in the coming months, with 36 teams competing in a league phase that will replace the group stage of the competition.

The number of matches in the new format will increase from 125 to 189, and each team will face eight different opponents, with half of the matches being played at home and the other half away.

It is a format that will naturally increase the already-intense workload on many top clubs around Europe.

But now, after concerns were raised surrounding the pressures of next season's calendar, it has emerged that the Carabao Cup will adopt a new mechanism to ease the fixture pile-up.

A report from The Telegraph suggests a new rankings system will ensure Champions League qualifiers do not draw Europa League teams, with third round EFL Cup fixtures now spread over two weeks.

Criteria for the new seeding system has yet to be clarified, according to the report.

As mentioned earlier, concerns have been raised around the fixture schedule.

After they reached the FA Cup following a win over Chelsea, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola mentioned the potential repercussions from a clash next season between the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

"When we play the Champions League [then] – hopefully we will qualify – it is the same week as the Carabao Cup. 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 [too]."

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Guardiola added: “We are incredibly happy, a lot of money, incredibly prestigious. But how many days do I give off to the players? Two weeks off and start the season again. It’s unsustainable.”

Jurgen Klopp, who left Liverpool at the end of the season, has often voiced his thoughts on football's ever-increasing fixture list.

He believes the issue is connected to those who have never played the game at the highest level.

“The people who decide don’t care," he said back in January. "There isn’t one guy deciding who can remember what it was like when he was a player - if he ever was a player. That’s how it is. I won’t be in there deciding and I won’t have the power for that.

“At some point, someone will have to press the brake. But we are obviously not in charge because, if football people were in charge, it would look completely different. Not because we are lazy, but because we are the people who really understand the intensity of what the boys are doing."