Tottenham Hotspur have asked for special dispensation to play their Carabao Cup third round tie against Watford at Stadium MK as their new stadium will not be ready for the fixture and Wembley, where the club have been playing their home games, is not available.
The club’s £850m stadium has been delayed until at least November following issues with the critical safety systems. The Carabao Cup fixture is set to take place in the week starting on 24 September.
“We appreciate that Stadium MK may not be an ideal destination for every fan to get to on a weekday evening,” said Spurs. “However the club felt it would not be beneficial to request a reverse of the fixture as it would have resulted in no more than a 10% allocation of tickets for our supporters at the venue of our opponents. In contrast, we shall have a ticket allocation of up to 90% at a neutral venue, ensuring greater access for our fans.”
Fans will be asked to travel more than 50 miles from the site of the new ground at White Hart Lane to Stadium MK, with Tottenham claiming no venue inside the M25 was available. “We are extremely conscious of having to ask our supporters to attend home matches at more than one venue and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause,” the club said.
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Carabao Cup round three draw
West Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace
Arsenal v Brentford
Burton Albion v Burnley
Wycombe Wanderers v Norwich City
Oxford United v Manchester City
West Ham United v Macclesfield Town
Millwall v Fulham
Liverpool v Chelsea
Bournemouth v Blackburn Rovers
Preston North End v Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City
Tottenham Hotspur v Watford
Blackpool v QPR
Everton v Southampton
Manchester United v Derby County
Nottingham Forest v Stoke City
The choice tie of the round is set to be Chelsea’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. The Premier League rivals met in the 2005 final in Cardiff, which Chelsea won 3-2 after extra-time. Holders Manchester City were handed an away trip to Oxford of League One.
Arsenal, runners-up to City at Wembley in February, will host Championship side Brentford in a London derby. José Mourinho’s Manchester United, the 2016-17 winners, will face Frank Lampard’s Derby. Mourinho and Lampard won the 2005 trophy together with Chelsea.
Everton play Southampton and Wolves host Leicester in all Premier League ties. Macclesfield, the lowest ranked team left in the competition at 23rd in League Two, play at West Ham, while Millwall host Fulham.