UK Edition
Carabao Cup 2017 draw in full: Manchester United play Burton Albion, Arsenal host Doncaster
Manchester United begin the defence of the Carabao Cup by hosting Burton in the third round.
United, who beat Southampton in last season's League Cup final, will welcome Nigel Clough's Championship side to Old Trafford after the 40-minute draw was made in Beijing this morning.
Jose Mourinho's side have only ever played the Brewers twice before, when the then non-league club earned a famous FA Cup replay after drawing 0-0 at Old Trafford, before United won 5-0 at the second attempt.
League One Doncaster have been rewarded for beating Championship Hull with a trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal, while the other third-tier club Bristol Rovers visit Wolves.
2014 winners Manchester City have been drawn away at West Brom, eight-time winners Liverpool visit Leicester, Chelsea will play Nottingham Forest at home and Everton host Sunderland.
Tottenham will play the winner of Barnsley versus Derby, Burnley's record signing Chris Wood will have a quick reunion with his former club Leeds as the Yorkshire side head to Turf Moor and Huddersfield make a repeat journey to Crystal Palace, the scene of their opening-day win in the Premier League.
Elsewhere West Ham taken on Bolton, Reading host Swansea, Stoke head to Bristol City and Brighton make the trip along the south coast to Bournemouth.
The draw was made in China at 11.30am local time, to try and boost the EFL's exposure in Asia, though it was not televised after mishaps in the last two draws.
The first-round draw, held in Thailand where the makers of energy drink Carabao are based, showed Charlton playing two teams in the on-screen graphic.
Then former England winger John Salako, conducting the second-round draw, got confused about which teams were playing at home or away.
Although starting late, there were no such embarrassments this time around, with each tie revealed on Twitter around two minutes apart on Twitter.
Ties to be played week commencing September 18.
Carabao Cup third round draw in full:
West Brom v Manchester City
Everton v Sunderland
Leicester v Liverpool
Manchester United v Burton
Brentford v Norwich
Wolves v Bristol Rovers
Burnley v Leeds
Arsenal v Doncaster
Bristol City v Stoke
Reading v Swansea
Aston Villa v Middlesbrough
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
West Ham v Bolton
Crystal Palace v Huddersfield
Tottenham v Barnsley or Derby
Bournemouth v Brighton
And that's it!
Burton and Doncaster will be vying to pull off huge upsets when they face Man United and Arsenal away from home.
West Brom presents a tricky away tie for Man City, while on the south coast there is another Premier League clash as Bournemouth host Brighton.
Congratulations on staying awake...
Teams wide awake for the draw
Some teams, or at least their poor social media staff, are staying up to find out who they will face.
Brighton, who beat Barnet 1-0 in the previous round, gave a little plug for the competition's sponsors....
And Norwich are also doing what they can to stay awake.
Troubled start to the competition
The previous draws haven't gone off entirely smoothly.
When the first round draw took place in Bangkok, Charlton Athletic appeared to be drawn twice before the live Facebook broadcast ground to a halt.
And then there was confusion during the second round draw when it was conducted in the Sky Sports studios by Alex McLeish and John Salako, alongside host Julian Warren.
Seeded teams were picked out, followed by whether they would be at home or away and then finally, their opposition.
But as Salako said Norwich would be away to Charlton, he appeared to realise the previous matches had been drawn the wrong way around.
A number of clubs in the southern section, including Norwich, Charlton, Brentford and Watford, all tweeted about their confusion. Watford initially reported an away tie against Bristol City, as per the draw, only to amend it to a home one.
This is probably why they're not televising it this time....
Preview
What is it?
This is the draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup, formerly known as the League Cup and many other names.
When is it?
The draw will take place on Thursday August 24, 2017.
What time does it happen?
The big question. The draw will take place at 4.15am BST. Yes, that is correct - it will take place in the early hours of the morning.
Why is it at that time?
The reason for such strange timing is because the draw will take place in Beijing, China. You may remember that the first-round draw took place in Thailand - the home nation of the competition's sponsor Carabao - and this China experiment is part of a mission to continue expansion across the Far East.
The draw will take place at 11.15am local time - a decision that has prompted ridicule in Britain, which is of course the country in which the competition takes place.
An EFL spokesman defended the decision:
We understand that not everyone will agree on the timing of this week’s round-three draw, but in staging in this way, it will give the competition both the maximum exposure in the UK, Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.
This is not only an important factor for the EFL but also our new sponsors Carabao, who, like ourselves, plan to use the growing global appeal of the competition to reach new audiences.
Once the logistics have been completed in Beijing, the UK will be waking up and the breakfast media will be able to report and get reaction on the 16 ties that will take place next month, which we feel is an interesting move away from the usual post-game evening draws.
What TV channel is it on?
Should you fancy setting an early alarm to find out who your team will be playing, you are in for some disappointing news: the draw will not be televised.
That decision comes after chaos engulfed the draws for the opening two rounds, with the first seeing Charlton Athletic appear on screen twice, as well as being beset by audio problems.
What are the teams involved?
Thirty-two clubs will be involved in the third round draw, with the seven Premier League sides who qualified for Uefa competitions entering, including last season’s winners Manchester United.
It is unseeded so anyone can play anyone.
The full list will be available after the second round matches are completed on Thursday.
When will the matches take place?
The 16 ties will all be played in the week commencing September 18, 2017.