Carabao Cup dying a slow death and EFL clubs are not helping to keep it alive

The Carabao Cup is slowly dying a sad death.Pep Guardiola admitted he didn’t want to “waste any energy” on the tournament and specifically used the phrase “second team” when explaining his squad selection against Watford.

The only surprise is that he didn’t turn up on the touchline in his dressing gown.

We all know what Jurgen Klopp thought of the competition. He sent assistant Pep Lijnders to take care of the mandatory pre and post-match press conferences. This was at the bottom of his priority list.

Even sides further down the pyramid are not taking it seriously.

Wycombe dropped eight key men against Aston Villa, Bolton rested seven at Arsenal and Coventry gave seven a night off vs Tottenham

Fans of EFL clubs do get an away day in a big fancy stadium if the draw is kind. But that’s the only fancy thing about it these days.

The EFL Cup was Jose Mourinho’s first trophy with Chelsea, Guardiola’s first with City and Erik ten Hag’s first with United. But gone are the times it was held with such importance and prestige.

Winning it or going deep can often give an under-pressure manager a little bit of reprieve. But that get-out-of-jail-free card may soon be taken away.

With European cups expanding, the future looks bleak for the third biggest domestic honour in England.

Extra-time has already been scrapped with ties going straight to penalties after 90 minutes. At this rate, it won’t be long until the tournament is too.