Are Big Clubs Using the EFL Cup as a Training Ground?

Are Big Clubs Using the EFL Cup as a Training Ground?

The floodlights are on, some stands are half full, and the team sheets drops.

If you are a club like Manchester City, Liverpool or Arsenal, the EFL Cup is a chance to switch up your team. Put some youth academy players in or try out a new formation; they may not work against the bigger sides.

If you are a fan of a lower league side, you may be expecting to see Erling Haaland in the flesh, but instead you have… Divine Mukasa?

Divine Mukasa. 18. Senior debut. Instant impact. 🅰️ pic.twitter.com/k0J2GrZYea

— Manchester City US (@ManCityUS) September 24, 2025

Whilst these players are still exceptional in their own right, there will always be a slight sense of disappointment from lower league teams about not being able to see some of the world's best players.

For all the branding and television packaging, the competition has become something closer to a laboratory than a trophy chase, where football’s masterminds experiment like Dr Frankenstein, stitching together teams from academy parts and spare limbs of the squad

For England’s biggest clubs, this competition is not just limited to a shiny new trophy; instead, it is about development, rotation and opportunity.

Take Divine Mukasa, for example. The young forward, who just turned 18 a month ago, got his first time to impress in front of Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City faithful.

Mukasa was not sensational—but nobody expected that. He did, however, set up Phil Foden with a cheeky one-two for the first goal of the night.

Not only will this moment now stay with him for life, but his confidence will have improved, and he has had his first taste of first-team football.

And this is not a new concept either. Two years ago, a young Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho both started for Manchester United against Charlton in the EFL Cup. Not only that, but Tom Heaton started in net, and Anthony Elanga was deployed as a striker.

If we go back even further and look at Arsenal during their invincible season, they played Rotherham United in the third round of the EFL Cup. During that match, the likes of John Spicer, Graham Stack, Ryan Smith and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie all played.

Those four players had a combined 35 appearances for Arsenal.

The logic behind this approach is that clubs tend to have a very high fixture congestion during September and October. Teams have European football, games every weekend in the league, and international fixtures.

This is the chance to allow their key players to rest their legs.

But that is not to say that teams do not take the competition seriously.

When Manchester United won in 2022/23, it was one of their brightest sparks of the past decade. They were on a six-year trophy drought, and that ended.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ #CarabaoCup winners: Manchester United 🏆🤩 pic.twitter.com/7EbRHBihqe

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 26, 2023

Pep Guardiola—a man who has won two trebles—won the competition four times in a row. He said last year, “It is a good competition to play the second team. I'm not going to take a risk in this competition for a Premier League or and Champions League with this competition.”

But still, during the years the two Manchester clubs won the competition, they did rotate heavily in the early rounds.

This, in effect, turns the cup into a two-phase event.

Youth and rotation up to the semi-finals, and the experience and leadership from there.

This duality makes it strange. Attendances can dwindle during these lower league fixtures as many fans are not interested in watching their mighty team play against some minnows.

But for the fans of the so-called minnows, it can lead to some of the greatest moments of their life.

Take Manchester United. When they faced Grimsby earlier this year, they were expected to steamroll through them. But a team that has won 20 league titles, three Champions Leagues, a treble, and six EFL Cups, was dispatched 12-11 on penalties by a side that is worth less than £5 million.

GRIMSBY TOWN HAVE BEATEN MANCHESTER UNITED! 🫨

12- 11 ON PENALTIES! #ITVFootball | #MUFC | #GTFC | #CarabaoCup | @officialgtfc pic.twitter.com/DSB96oWMvk

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 27, 2025

It is a strange competition. England is one of the only countries in the world where there are two separate cup competitions. Many people have called for the bigger teams to leave the competition, but then all the investments leave with them.

It is more of a journey. The likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and John Terry all made their debut in the competition. It allows future stars to make their mark on the footballing world.

It may be seen as just a training ground for the big teams, but that does not make the competition any less important.