Carabao Cup: EFL confirms two-legged semi-finals will stay in EFL Cup

Manchester United won the Carabao Cup title last season, beating Newcastle in the all-Premier League final at Wembley

The English Football League says it will keep two-legged semi-finals in the Carabao Cup for the 2024-25 season.

But BBC Sport understands the EFL is willing to change the format if it can strike a deal with the Premier League.

The EFL is frustrated the Premier League has not agreed to send more funds to the lower leagues.

EFL chairman Rick Parry told a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee hearing last week that two-legged semis would not be scrapped without a deal.

"As it stands there is no agreement in place to make any changes to the Carabao Cup's two-legged semi-final format, which continues to provide significant financial benefit to EFL clubs," said EFL chief executive Trevor Birch as the EFL announced its 2024-25 calendar on Wednesday.

"The League remains committed to a review of the calendar, but any significant changes cannot be made unilaterally, and would need to come with significant levels of compensation and adopted as part of any new distribution deal with the Premier League and its clubs."

Even without a deal, the EFL privately accepts it has a problem fitting the tournament into the calendar.

Uefa's decision to expand its club competitions to 36 teams means European matches will be played in three of the midweeks presently used for the EFL Cup.

There could be a clash between the EFL Cup semi-final second leg and a round of Champions League and Europa League matches.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the Football Association has accepted replays are impractical in the FA Cup for the third and fourth rounds.

That format is also linked to a deal, which would include the fifth round moving back to a weekend date.

The semi-finals of the EFL Cup have been held over two legs since the tournament was created in 1961.

The Carabao Cup features all clubs from the EFL and Premier League in a knock-out format over seven rounds, before the semi-final is played over two legs, with the final held at Wembley Stadium.

Premier League clubs join in the second round, with those that have qualified for European competition doing so in the third.