Crystal Palace’s Conference League success has created an unusual Carabao Cup headache, with four clubs now facing a preliminary round before the competition proper begins.
Palace’s victory means they qualify for the Europa League, taking the number of Premier League clubs in European competition to nine once again. That matters for the Carabao Cup because all nine European qualifiers enter at the third round stage, meaning the EFL must adjust the early rounds to ensure the numbers work.
As BBC’s Dale Johnson explained, the solution is a preliminary round involving four clubs: Crawley Town, Rochdale, Tranmere Rovers and York City. Those fixtures are expected to be played a week before the first round, with the draw made at the same time as the opening round draw.
Regional Split Creates A Problem
The complication comes from the fact that the first two rounds of the Carabao Cup are regionalised. Last season, when a preliminary round was needed, the split was straightforward, with two clubs in the northern section and two in the southern section.
This time, it is far less clear. Crawley are the obvious southern club, but Rochdale, Tranmere and York all sit in the northern half of the draw. Tranmere are technically the most southerly of those three, which could lead to them being paired with Crawley, leaving Rochdale and York to meet in the other tie.
However, Johnson pointed out that Tranmere’s position close to the west coast does not necessarily make them more accessible for southern clubs than Rochdale or York. That could force the EFL into an open draw to decide which of the three northern clubs faces Crawley and therefore feeds into the southern section of the competition.
The issue matters because the Carabao Cup needs 23 teams to progress into the third round, where the nine European sides enter to make up the final 32. It is a small administrative wrinkle, but one with real consequences for the clubs involved, not least because their season may now begin earlier than expected.
It could lead to York City (or indeed Rochdale or Tranmere) travelling to Plymouth or Gillingham in the Southern Section, or a similar scenario, which is a nightmare for the EFL.
Last Season Precedent
Last season, the Carabao Cup needed a preliminary round because nine Premier League clubs had qualified for Europe, leaving the competition with too many teams for the usual early-round structure. The EFL placed four clubs into that extra stage: the two promoted National League sides, Barnet and Oldham Athletic, plus League Two’s 21st and 22nd-placed teams, Newport County and Accrington Stanley.
The draw by Shay Given and John Barnes was regionalised, so it was actually academic. In the northern tie, Accrington beat Oldham 3-1 at the Crown Ground, with Anjola Popoola, Kelsey Mooney, and Josh Woods scoring before Reagan Ogle replied after the break. In the southern section, Newport County progressed after a 2-2 draw at Barnet, Cameron Antwi and Michael Reindorf putting the Exiles ahead before Ryan Galvin and Steven Browne both struck in stoppage time, with Newport then winning 4-2 on penalties.
