The Carabao Cup was one of very few competitions to be unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic during the 2019-20 season, with Man City being crowned champions on 1 March.
However, it’s a different story this time around, despite the final still taking place in late February. The EFL Cup is subject to the same stringent health and safety measures as the rest of English football, including regular testing and matches behind closed doors.
More than ever, then, we’ll be relying on the TV to get our football fix.
Until at least 2024, the Carabao Cup will be exclusive to Sky Sports in the UK. That means you’ll need to pay to start watching, but there are three different ways to do that.
How to watch the Carabao Cup on Sky Sports
Sky Sports has the rights to show all 183 games live, but it’s picks and chooses the best ties, particularly in the early rounds.
Sky Q customers with a Sky Sports package can also tune into games on TV or online via Sky Go.
The cheapest standalone plan currently costs £18 a month, or you can currently get all the Sky Sports channels at a reduced price of £23pm for 18 months. See the full range of subscriptions on the Sky website.
How to watch the Carabao Cup on Now TV
If you don’t want to commit to a Sky contract and satellite dish on your house then that’s not a problem. Sky has its Now TV streaming service as an alternative option.
Now TV is available on a wide range of devices including smartphones and games consoles and now offers HD quality if you buy the Now TV Boost option.
Your options are a Day Pass (24 hours of access) from £9.99 but it’s going to make much more sense to get the Month Pass if you plan to watch every weekend.
It’s normally £33.99pm but Sky has an offer on for the start of the season meaning you can get it for £25pm for 12 months.
You can stream on up to two devices, or three if you get Now TV Boost.
Click here to view Now TV’s Sky Sports Pass packages.
How to watch the Carabao Cup on carabaocup.live
New for the 2020-21, carabaocup.live is a new online streaming platform specifically for the Carabao Cup. After signing up, you can purchase an HD live stream of a selection of matches that Sky Sports isn’t showing for a set fee of £10.
Carabao Cup fixture list
There’s a full guide to all the upcoming Carabao Cup fixtures on the EFL website. There are some great ties to look forward to in the 3rd round, with Premier League heavyweights joining the competition:
Tonight
Leyton Orient vs Tottenham – postponed
Newport County vs Watford – 7pm
West Brom vs Brentford – 7pm – carabaocup.live
West Ham vs Hull – 7.30pm – carabaocup.live
Luton Town vs Man Utd – 8.15pm – Sky Sports
Tomorrow
Fulham vs Sheffield Wednesday – 7pm – carabaocup.live
Millwall vs Burnley – 7pm – carabaocup.live
Preston vs Brighton – 7pm – carabaocup.live
Stoke vs Gillingham – 7pmChelsea vs Barnsley – 7.45pm – carabaocup.live
Fleetwood Town vs Everton – 7.45pm – Sky Sports
Leicester City vs Arsenal – 7.45pm – carabaocup.live
Morecambe vs Newcastle United – 7.45pm – carabaocup.live
How to watch the Carabao Cup abroad
If you’re a British viewer living abroad (or planning to travel at some point!) and you still want to watch using your existing UK services, then you can also use a VPN to ‘browse from the UK’ and access both your Sky Sports and Now TV subscriptions.
Nord VPN is one of our top recommendations, but you can check out our best VPN chart, which shows you some of the best services for accessing UK content from abroad.