<p>English football's second-tier knockout competition has earned a reputation for chaos. <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/soccer/united-kingdom/english-premier-league">Premier League</a> giants field weakened sides, lower-league clubs smell blood, and results that look banker material on paper end up in the bin.</p> <p>For punters willing to do their homework, the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/soccer/united-kingdom/english-football-league-cup">Carabao Cup</a> offers genuine value that the Premier League simply can't match.</p> <p>Newcastle United's 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the March 2025 final proved exactly this point. The Magpies, available at juicy odds throughout their run, ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by outmuscling the Premier League leaders at Wembley.</p> <p>Sharp punters who recognised Liverpool's squad fatigue and Newcastle's set-piece threat walked away with healthy returns.</p> <p>This guide breaks down the tournament format, explains the key betting markets, and identifies the angles that can give you an edge.</p> <h2>What is the Carabao Cup?</h2> <p>The Carabao Cup, officially known as the EFL Cup, is the older sibling of English football's knockout competitions. It launched in 1960, making it a relative newcomer compared to the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/soccer/united-kingdom/english-fa-cup">FA Cup</a>'s Victorian origins. The Thai energy drink company Carabao has held naming rights since 2017.</p> <p>All 92 clubs from England's top four divisions of the <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/soccer/soccer-news/english-soccer-pyramid-system-guide">English soccer pyramid</a> compete. That means Premier League titans like Manchester City and Liverpool share the draw with League Two sides from towns most Australians have never heard of.&nbsp;</p> <p>The winner earns a spot in the following season's <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/soccer/uefa-competitions/uefa-europa-conference-league">UEFA Conference League</a> playoff round, which provides genuine incentive for clubs hovering outside European qualification places.</p> <p>Liverpool hold the record with 10 titles. Manchester City have claimed eight, including four consecutive wins between 2018 and 2021. Manchester United sit on six. These three clubs have hoovered up the trophy in recent decades, though Newcastle's 2025 triumph proved the established order can be disrupted.</p> <h2>Tournament Format and Structure</h2> <p>Championship, League One and League Two clubs enter in the first round during August. The draw splits into northern and southern sections to reduce travel costs for lower-league sides.</p> <p>Premier League clubs not involved in European competition join in the second round. The remaining Premier League sides, those competing in the Champions League or Europa League, enter from the third round.</p> <h3>Knockout Rules</h3> <p>Every round up to the semi-finals operates as a single-leg knockout tie. If scores are level after 90 minutes, the match goes straight to penalties. No extra time. This creates chaos in the early rounds, where tired defenders facing a penalty shootout after a bruising encounter with a fired-up lower-league side is a recipe for upsets.</p> <p>The semi-finals buck this trend with a two-legged format. Home and away, aggregate score determines who advances. Extra time follows if needed after the second leg, then penalties.</p> <p>The final takes place at Wembley Stadium, typically in late February or early March. The 2025 final fell on 16 March.</p> <h3>Key Dates</h3> <p>The competition runs from August through to the final in late February or March. First round matches usually kick off in mid-August, with Premier League clubs entering throughout September. Quarter-finals typically fall in December, semi-finals across January and February.</p> <h2>Betting Markets Explained</h2> <h3>Outright Winner</h3> <p>The headline market. You're backing a club to lift the trophy at Wembley, regardless of when you place the bet. Odds fluctuate throughout the tournament as clubs progress or exit.</p> <p>Liverpool entered the 2024-25 season as favourites, which made sense given their record 10 titles and squad depth.</p> <p>Newcastle's triumph showed that looking beyond the obvious favourites can pay dividends. The Magpies were available at significantly longer odds despite having reached the 2023 final.</p> <h3>Match Result</h3> <p>Pick the winner of a specific match. Straightforward in theory, complicated by the reality that big clubs routinely rotate their squads. A Manchester City side featuring five academy players looks very different to their Champions League starting eleven.</p> <p>The draw option matters less here than in league football since matches can't finish level. If you back the draw in 90-minute betting and penalties follow, your bet covers the score after normal time only.</p> <h3>To Qualify</h3> <p>A cleaner option than match result. You're backing a team to advance to the next round, regardless of whether they win in normal time or via penalties. This removes the scenario where your side wins the shootout but you've lost your match result bet.</p> <h3>Both Teams to Score</h3> <p>Cup football breeds open games. Rotated defences face unfamiliar partnerships. Lower-league sides attack with nothing to lose.</p> <p>The BTTS market finds plenty of action in Carabao Cup ties, particularly when Premier League clubs visit away grounds in early rounds.</p> <h3>Over/Under Goals</h3> <p>Related to BTTS but focused on volume rather than distribution. Over 2.5 goals catches plenty of backers in cup ties where defensive solidity takes a back seat to attacking intent. The psychology shifts in knockout football, with teams pressing harder knowing there's no second chance.</p> <h3>Correct Score</h3> <p>High-risk, high-reward territory. Carabao Cup matches produce more volatile scorelines than league football, making correct score prediction genuinely difficult.</p> <p>The 7-goal thriller between Tottenham and Manchester United in the 2024-25 quarter-finals illustrated how quickly cup ties can go sideways.</p> <h3>First Goalscorer and Anytime Scorer</h3> <p>Squad rotation creates opportunity here. Players who barely feature in league football suddenly start cup ties, offering value if you've done your research on who's likely to play.&nbsp;</p> <p>Youth players given cup opportunities often carry shorter odds than their actual goal threat deserves, while experienced squad players flying under the radar can represent genuine value.</p> <h3>To Reach the Final</h3> <p>An each-way alternative to the outright market. You're backing a club to make Wembley, winning regardless of the final result. This suits punters who fancy a club's cup run but have reservations about their ability to win it all.</p> <h2>Why the Carabao Cup Differs from Other Competitions</h2> <p>This is the elephant in the room. Premier League managers treat the Carabao Cup as a chance to rest key players and blood youngsters. For example, Pep Guardiola famously rotated heavily in early rounds even during Manchester City's four consecutive winning seasons.</p> <p>The 2025-26 tournament saw Manchester United field a squad described charitably as experimental in their second-round defeat to Grimsby Town, a League Two side.&nbsp;</p> <p>That result, a humiliation for one of European football's historic powers, highlighted exactly how much squad selection can distort expectations.</p> <p>When it comes to placing a bet, rotation demands homework so I suggest you do your homework and check team news, monitor press conferences, look at patterns from previous seasons. A club's "cup squad" often becomes predictable after a few rounds.</p> <h3>Lower Stakes, Higher Drama</h3> <p>Premier League survival and Champions League qualification dominate managerial thinking at most clubs. The Carabao Cup sits third in the priority list at best, behind the league and FA Cup. This creates mismatched motivation levels when big clubs meet smaller opponents.</p> <p>For a League One side, beating a Premier League giant represents the biggest occasion in years, possibly decades</p> <p>&nbsp;For the Premier League club, it's a midweek inconvenience that risks injuring players needed for more important fixtures. That psychological gap matters.</p> <h3>Single-Leg Format Creates Upsets</h3> <p>The switch to a single-leg format through to the semi-finals transformed the competition's character. Over two legs, Premier League quality usually tells. In a single 90-minute match with penalties waiting, anything can happen.</p> <p>Bradford City's run to the 2013 final from League Two demonstrated the format's chaos potential. They beat Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa, all Premier League sides at the time, before losing to Swansea at Wembley. Such runs become possible when upsets require one night of brilliance rather than sustained excellence across two legs.</p> <h3>Set Pieces and Physical Battles</h3> <p>Cup ties between mismatched sides often become attritional. Lower-league clubs sit deep, defend set pieces rigorously, and look for moments to counter. When the upset comes, it frequently arrives from a corner, free kick or long throw.</p> <p>Newcastle's 2025 final victory epitomised this approach. Dan Burn's header from a corner opened the scoring against Liverpool, with the Magpies' aerial superiority proving decisive. Alexander Isak's finish sealed the deal, but the tactical foundation was set piece dominance.</p> <h2>Where to Watch the Carabao Cup in Australia</h2> <p>Australian punters can follow Carabao Cup action through beIN Sports, which holds exclusive broadcast rights. The platform streams up to eight matches per round live, with full coverage of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final guaranteed.</p> <p>beIN Sports offers monthly subscription packages and an annual deal. The service streams across multiple devices including tablets, phones and smart TVs.</p> <p>Matches typically kick off between 4:00am and 6:00am AEDT due to the time difference with England. Some quarter-final and semi-final ties may fall on slightly earlier UK kickoff times, making late evening viewing possible in Australia.</p> <p>For those who miss live broadcasts, beIN provides on-demand replays of featured matches.</p> <h2>FAQ</h2> <h3>What happens if a Carabao Cup match is drawn after 90 minutes?</h3> <p>In rounds up to and including the quarter-finals, matches go straight to penalties if level after 90 minutes. No extra time is played. Semi-final ties are two-legged affairs where aggregate score determines the winner. If the aggregate is level after both legs, extra time is played in the second leg followed by penalties if needed. The final includes extra time before penalties.</p> <h3>When do Premier League clubs enter the Carabao Cup?</h3> <p>Premier League clubs not involved in European competition enter from the second round in late August. Clubs competing in the Champions League or Europa League enter from the third round in September. This gives lower-league sides potential opportunities against Premier League opposition from round two onwards.</p> <h3>Can I bet on individual Carabao Cup matches or only the outright winner?</h3> <p>Both markets are widely available. Match betting covers all the standard options including match result, both teams to score, over/under goals, correct score and goalscorer markets. Outright markets typically include tournament winner and to reach the final. Some bookmakers offer enhanced specials around bigger fixtures.</p> <h3>Why do Premier League clubs rotate their squads in the Carabao Cup?</h3> <p>Fixture congestion forces difficult decisions. Premier League clubs competing in European competition might face three matches in seven days during cup weeks. Managers protect key players from injury and fatigue, using cup ties to give squad players and youth team members competitive minutes.</p> <h3>Who has won the most Carabao Cups?</h3> <p>Liverpool lead with 10 titles, ahead of Manchester City on eight and Manchester United on six. Liverpool's dominance includes four consecutive wins from 1981 to 1984, a record matched by Manchester City between 2018 and 2021. Newcastle United became the 24th different club to win the competition with their 2025 triumph.</p> <h3>When is the Carabao Cup Final?</h3> <p>The final is held at Wembley Stadium, typically in late February or early March. The 2025 final took place on 16 March. The exact date varies slightly each season based on fixture scheduling across English football.</p>