Why Manchester United and Liverpool are on a collision course

The Carabao Cup is heating up, but fans hoping for an early blockbuster clash between Manchester United and Liverpool will have to wait a little longer.

A newly revealed rule tweak means that these two titans of English football won’t be squaring off in the next round, despite entering the competition at the same stage.

This season, the Carabao Cup schedule has been reshuffled to accommodate the extended European group stages, a move that has split the competition’s third round across two midweeks. This shift means that clubs competing in the Champions League—Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Aston Villa—are temporarily barred from facing Europa League contenders like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

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As Manchester Evening News reports, the decision is rooted in the congested fixture calendar, with the Champions League and Europa League group stages overlapping with the Carabao Cup schedule. As a result, United and Spurs will kick off their Carabao Cup campaigns while the likes of Liverpool and City focus on European battles, and vice versa the following week.

For Manchester United, this means a delayed potential clash with their fierce rivals, Liverpool, leaving fans eager for a showdown that could come later in the tournament. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s side will aim to defend their Carabao Cup title with their eyes on a possible future face-off against Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

The Carabao Cup’s evolving landscape adds a new layer of intrigue to the competition, as fans eagerly await the moment when these football giants finally lock horns.