England - League Cup

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Three talking points from the Premier League

3 days ago

Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League remains five points after Manchester City squandered the chance heap pressure on the Gunners by losing 1-0 to Tottenham on Sunday.

Ten Hag silent on Greenwood after charges against Man Utd player dropped

5 days ago

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag declined to comment on Mason Greenwood on Friday, 24 hours after criminal charges against the 21-year-old forward were dropped.

Newcastle must come to terms with new status, says Howe

5 days ago

Eddie Howe admits Newcastle's new-found status as a threat to the Premier League's big guns will make it harder to sign players from their rivals in future.

Fernandes hails Ten Hag effect after Man Utd reach League Cup final

6 days ago

Bruno Fernandes has hailed Erik ten Hag's role in transforming the fortunes of Manchester United after the club secured a place in the League Cup final.

WATCH: Roy Keane goes viral after asking Ten Hag for free tickets to the Carabao Cup final

6 days ago

The Red Devils icon made sure to crack a joke with the Dutch manager following the club's 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the final.

Man Utd finish off Forest to cruise into League Cup final

1 week ago

Manchester United will meet Newcastle at Wembley on February 26 in the League Cup final after a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest sealed a 5-0 semi-final aggregate victory.

Newcastle's rise fuelled by 'obsessive' Howe and Saudi cash

1 week ago

After decades in the doldrums, Newcastle's progress to their first League Cup final in 47 years underlined the Saudi-funded club's emergence as a serious threat to the English football establishment.

The EFL Cup, often referred to simply as the League Cup, is a football knockout tournament played each year by all English football teams ranked in the top leagues in the country (English Premier League, English Championship, League 1 and League 2).

The League Cup is one of the top three domestic tournaments in England, alongside the FA Cup and the Premier League. The competition’s first edition was played back in the 1960-1961 season, with Aston Villa being the first club to win it.

The tournament is divided into seven rounds, being played mostly with a single-leg format until the semi-final stage of the competition. Top-tier teams are handed byes to enter the tournament in the latter stages to facilitate their road to the final, which also gives lower-tier teams a chance to build their hopes up in the early rounds.

A total of 92 teams from the Premier League and English Football League are permitted to enter. English top-flight clubs involved in European competitions (the UCL and UEL) enter in the third round. There they are joined by the 25 winners from round two. Due to congested scheduling, England’s elites tend to field more youthful squads in the earlier rounds for rotation. This habit can lead to upset defeats, a phenomenon also known as giant killings. One instance of this was in 2014-2015 when Man United were knocked out of the competition in the second round by MK Dons, losing 4-0 to the then third-tier side.

The champions are awarded a slot in the following UEFA Europa League season. This makes England one of only two countries to offer European berth to the winners of their second cup competition. This privilege has helped the competition remain popular as it offers clubs another route into Europe. As a result, fans loyally keep up with the action through either live streaming options, on-demand services, or regular TV broadcasting.