Carabao Cup draw rule changes: What is Bowl 1 and Bowl 2 and how has the Champions League schedule changed the draw?

WE are heading into the third round of the Carabao Cup – and it’s been a thrilling start to the competition.

The top seven Premier League clubs from last season will enter the hat on Wednesday night, but this year’s draw comes with a major change.

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The Carabao Cup is heading into the third round stage[/caption]

SunSport has all the details ahead of the Carabao Cup third round draw below…

Carabao Cup third round rule change

New draw conditions will be implemented for the Carabao Cup third round draw due to the scheduling of European competition fixtures over two exclusive midweeks in September.

The third round fixtures are due to take place W/C September 16 and 23, with fixtures in the Champions League (W/C September 16) and Europa League (W/C September 23) also scheduled during this period.

To ensure there is no clash of fixture dates, conditions will be implemented during the third round draw to ensure a club participating in the Champions League does not draw a club participating in the Europa League, to enable the round three fixtures to take place in the alternate week.

The Carabao Cup third round draw features 32 clubs, including the 25 winners from round two and the seven Premier League clubs in Uefa competitions this term.

Chelsea could be competing in the Uefa Conference League this season, which is due to begin in October, meaning it has no impact on the Carabao Cup third round.

This year’s main draw will see two separate bowls be used for picking the balls:

• Bowl 1 – the six Champions League and Europa League clubs
• Bowl 2 – the remaining 26 clubs

Before Nottingham Forest’s second round clash against Newcastle on Wednesday, August 28, there will be a pre-draw to determine the home/away positioning of the six clubs in Bowl 1 for the first six ties of the main draw.

Following the conclusion of the game at the City Ground, the main draw for the third round will take place.

The first six ties will be drawn alternating between one club from Bowl 1 and one club from Bowl 2, with the home/away positioning of the club from Bowl 1 already determined by the pre-draw.

The remaining ten ties will then be drawn from teams in Bowl 2 only to complete the draw with Bowl 1 sides already picked.

And from the third round of the Carabao Cup, the draw is no longer split into northern and southern sections.

When is the Carabao Cup third round draw?

The Carabao Cup main draw takes place on Wednesday, August 28 following the conclusion of Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle, expected at around 10.15pm BST.

There will be a pre-draw first to determine the home/away positioning of the clubs in the Champions League and the Europa League.

Mark Chapman will host the draws.

How can I watch the Carabao Cup third round draw?

The Carabao Cup third round draw will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football following Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle.

The draw is also expected to be live streamed for FREE on Sky Sports’ Football’s YouTube channel, as have the first and second round draws this season.