Spurs vs Man City highlights Carabao Cup fourth-round draw

The fourth round draw of the 2024/25 Carabao Cup was held on Wednesday, following a pair of matches. Arsenal and Liverpool both booked a place in the next round of the competition on the night. The Gunners took care of League One side Bolton, while Liverpool beat fellow Premier League club West Ham. Both victorious teams recorded impressive winning scores of 5-1.

Tournament organizers previously introduced a new controversial seeding system in the Carabao Cup. The move kept Champions League and Europa League clubs from facing off in the third round of the tournament. The decision was designed as a way to ease fixture congestion of these big clubs.

Nevertheless, this seeding system was not in place during the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw. As a result, the marquee matchup of the draw is undoubtedly Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur. The North London club will host the reigning Premier League champions in the round.

City manager Pep Guardiola recently made headlines by claiming that he will not “waste energy” on the Carabao Cup. The comments came as the English champions are dealing with injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. City also have a packed fixture list throughout the 2024/25 season as well.

Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, however, also opted to rotate his team for their third-round win over Coventry. Regular starters such as Son Heung-Min, James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Mickey van de Ven, and Guglielmo Vicario were all not named in the manager’s starting XI on the night.

Several top Premier League teams to face off in the tournament

The matchup between the two Premier League heavyweights is not the only big fixture of the draw. Current Carabao Cup holders Liverpool will also travel to face Brighton. The Seagulls are currently just one of four English top-flight teams to be undefeated in league play this season.

Chelsea could play Newcastle in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as well. The Magpies, however, first have to play their third-round fixture against Wimbledon. The matchup from the previous round was forced to be postponed due to flooding issues at the League Two side’s stadium. Newcastle will now host Wimbledon on October 1st, with the winner to play Chelsea.

Lower-level clubs face tough Carabao Cup draws

Including Newcastle, 13 of the 17 teams remaining in the Carabao Cup are from the Premier League. Wimbledon is now the lowest-ranked team to still be alive in the competition. No other club in the knockout tournament is currently outside of the Championship. Three second-tiered teams, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City, and Preston North End, are hoping to be a Cinderella story in the competition.

Preston, however, has the toughest matchup of the trio of Championship clubs. The struggling side will host Arsenal in the fourth round of the tournament. Wednesday also must travel to face Brentford as well.

This could leave Stoke as the most likely candidate to shock a Premier League team in the Carabao Cup. The Potters are enduring a tough campaign so far but will play Southampton in the fourth round of the tournament. The Saints have yet to win a top-flight game so far this season.

Official dates of the Carabao Cup fourth round are not yet set. Nevertheless, matchups will be played at some point during the week of Oct. 28.

Carabao Cup fourth-round draw:

Brentford vs Sheffield Wednesday

Southampton vs Stoke

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

AFC Wimbledon or Newcastle vs Chelsea

Manchester United vs Leicester

Brighton vs Liverpool

Preston vs Arsenal

Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

PHOTOS: IMAGO