The Carabao Cup second-round draw took place last night, throwing up some mouth-watering ties, as Premier League sides not involved in Europe enter the fray.
Birmingham City boss Harry Redknapp will come up against one of the many sides he used to manage, Premier League outfit Bournemouth, at St Andrews, whilst there will be a feisty Lancashire derby between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley at Ewood Park. Meanwhile, last season’s finalists Southampton host big-spending Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Unfortunately, confusion reigned during this draw, just as it did for the first-round draw back in June.
Last night, four second-round matches were announced with the incorrect team away from home, and there was a great deal of controversy surrounding the way in which the competition’s organisers decided which section of the draw, North or South, each team belonged in.
Many supporters took to Twitter to announce their displeasure at this rather confusing second-round draw:
Trying to make sense of what’s happening with the @Carabao_Cup draw on @SkySportsNews #EFLCup pic.twitter.com/3RohviFfEP
— Mr Geoff Peters (@mrgeoffpeters) August 10, 2017
The North/South splits of the #CarabaoCup draw are bizarre. How are Wolves in the South when Aston Villa and Newport are both North?!
— Rich Jones (@RichJonesMedia) August 10, 2017
How hard can it be to draw a 92-team cup right? More errors in 2 rounds of @Carabao_Cup than the whole history of the league cup.
— Andrew Evans (@snavEwerdnA) August 10, 2017
Second round running they’ve made a mess of the @Carabao_Cup draw. Deliberate ploy to draw attention to a failing competition?
— Tim Street (@StreetboyTim) August 10, 2017
What a farce the @Carabao_Cup draw is!
— Derby Lad (@derby_lad) August 10, 2017
This draw is an absolute farce, not one of them know what’s going on . #CarabaoCup
— Chris F (@chrisfog7) August 10, 2017
How hard can it be to draw some balls out of a bowl! @Carabao_Cup making this draw look a bit of a farce!
— TheBootifulGame (@TheBootifulGame) August 10, 2017
Nevertheless, there were some fans who were happy with the draw:
Blackburn v Burnley second round of the League Cup. Best tie of the round.
— Phil Bird (@PhilBirdBFC) August 10, 2017
Southampton v Wolves being pulled out the hat gives me an excuse to watch a game locally. I’ll be off to that I reckon!
— The Stadium Trotter (@StadiumTrotter) August 10, 2017
Blades at home to Leicester, happy with that! Eyecatching draw of Blackburn vs Burnley.. Tasty! #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/IXWYjxtHSA
— Scott Shaw (@ScottyDshaw90) August 10, 2017
Here is the draw in full, courtesy of the BBC:
South section
QPR v Brentford*
Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town*
Watford v Bristol City*
Norwich City v Charlton Athletic*
Cheltenham Town v West Ham United**
Brighton & Hove Albion v Barnet
Cardiff City v Burton Albion
Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fulham v Bristol Rovers
Milton Keynes Dons v Swansea City
Birmingham City v Bournemouth
Reading v Millwall
North section
Carlisle United v Sunderland
Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield Wednesday
Accrington Stanley v West Bromwich Albion
Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
Leeds United v Newport County**
Stoke City v Rochdale
Huddersfield Town v Rotherham United
Middlesbrough v Scunthorpe United
Doncaster Rovers v Hull City
Blackburn Rovers v Burnley
Sheffield United v Leicester City
Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic
Barnsley v Derby County or Grimsby Town
*These ties were initially announced with the other team at home
**West Ham and Newport County would not play at home, as per a pre-draw agreement