Why Man Utd and Liverpool cannot meet in Carabao Cup draw after major rule change

The reason why Manchester United will not be able to face Liverpool in the next round of the Carabao Cup has been revealed.

This week, the Carabao Cup returns with Premier League teams not in Europe entering the competition.

The likes of Everton, Crystal Palace, Leicester City Brighton and Hove Albion were all in action on Tuesday night.

Newcastle United, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest will play their matches on Wednesday night.

After the matches are done on Wednesday night, the third-round draw will take place, with the rest of the Premier League entering the fray.

Ahead of the draw, it has been revealed that teams in the Champions League will not be able to play against those in the Europa League due to a change in rules.

As reported by Manchester Evening News, the third round of the Carabao Cup will be held across two midweeks as a result of the extended European group stages affecting the calendar, which means that no Champions League teams(Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa) will be able to face Europa League sides(United and Tottenham Hotspur).

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Teams in the Champions League will play their first matches on September 17/18, which will also be when United and Spurs are in Carabao Cup third-round action.

In the following week, the roles will be reversed with the likes of Liverpool, City, Arsenal and Villa taking part in the Carabao Cup and United and Spurs in Europa League action.

United got their hands on the Carabao Cup during Erik ten Hag's first campaign in charge after beating Newcastle United 2-0 in the final.

Last season, Liverpool won the Carabao Cup in dramatic circumstances after Virgil van Dijk headed in a Kostas Tsimikas corner in the 118th minute to seal a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley.

It proved to be Jurgen Klopp's final trophy as Liverpool boss.