Manchester United find themselves in the unfamiliar position of needing to qualify for the third round of this year’s Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils, who have won the competition on six occasions and most recently in 2023, enter the 2025–26 edition of England’s secondary cup competition in the second round for the first time in over a decade.
Ruben Amorim’s side have discovered their first opponents in this season’s Carabao Cup, with the Portuguese head coach likely viewing the competition as his best route to a first piece of silverware in the Man Utd dugout.
But why are the Red Devils competing in the second round this term?
