Extra-time and seeding have been scrapped among a number of changes made to the Carabao Cup for 2018/19.

At their Summer Conference, EFL clubs decided that ties which are level at 90 minutes will go straight to penalties, which will return to their traditional format in EFL competitions next season after a one-year experiment with the ABBA alternative.

An EFL statement reads: “Withdrawing the additional 30 minutes of play would directly address any additional fatigue issues that are occasionally caused when the midweek ties go beyond the traditional 90-minute period.

“A statistical analysis was presented that demonstrated how almost 85 per cent of matches ended in normal time over a three-year period, without the additional period being required, and as a result clubs have supported the new approach.

“In the event that scores are tied after 90 minutes, penalty kicks will be taken immediately to determine a winner. However, the format of penalties in the competition will revert to the traditional format after EFL clubs trialed the ABBA concept throughout the 2017/18 season. This will be applicable in all EFL competitions.”

The statement adds: “In addition to the on-field matters, clubs were also given the option to remove the seeding arrangements from the first two rounds of the Carabao Cup and the vote determined that this element will no longer feature. Round one will remain regionalised into North and South sections.”

VAR will also be used in next season’s Carabao Cup in games played at Premier League stadia.

No date has yet been confirmed for the draw for the competition's first round but it has tended to take place around the same time as the league programme is announced.

Town's Championship fixtures for 2018/19 will be announced at 9am on Thursday 21st June when they will be available on TWTD.

Meanwhile, the Premier League has introduced a two-week break during February from the 2019/20 season but the EFL programme will not be impacted.

However, fifth round FA Cup ties will move to midweek and additionally fifth round replays will be replaced with extra-time and penalties.

Elsewhere, former Blues defender Damien Delaney, 36, has re-signed for his hometown club Cork City, where he started his career, having left Crystal Palace at the end of last season.

Photo: Action Images

MrJase77 added 14:18 - Jun 8 All the sports science and fitness in modern football today, and yet players apparently can't run around for an extra 30 minutes on rare occasions?! What a load of garbage.
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SouperJim added 14:24 - Jun 8 Should have removed PL clubs from the League Cup and binned the winter break idea. Would give Championship clubs an incentive to give a damn about it (they can actually win a cup trophy) and eased the PL fixture congestion issue at the same time.
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carlisleaway added 14:50 - Jun 8 The Premier League only thinks about itself, more should be done for the lower league clubs.
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Cheshire_Blue added 17:02 - Jun 8 Both cups are now Mickey Mouse competitions.
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itfcserbia added 17:34 - Jun 8 MrJase77 - sure they can, they just don't want to.
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SheptonMalletBlue added 17:42 - Jun 8 just scrap the league cup, it's meaningless!!!!!
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PortmanTerrorist added 19:04 - Jun 8 There are plenty of folks around the country who cannot get transport home if games go to Extra Time. Whether this was a factor or not, for the country's 2nd cup, this seems sensible.
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jas0999 added 08:01 - Jun 9 SouperJim - completely agree!
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Arnie added 10:01 - Jun 9 It's still a good competition, league clubs often beat the premier clubs and these competitions can make money for the small teams. However, maybe a bit of bitterness here because of the way Mick treated our cup matches. THE FA Cup is still magical when non-league are involved and lower league teams are drawn against premier clubs and of course the big boys don't turn their noses up when there is a chance of winning something because the main prize is out of reach to most teams.

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