Carabao Cup draw made in Vietnam!

VIETNAM will host the draw for the first round of next season’s Carabao Cup.

The draw for the opening round will be held abroad for a second season after the 2017 event in Bangkok, Thailand.

A technical hitch which plagued last year’s spectacle in 2017 has not put the EFL off sending former City midfielder Steve McManaman, ex-United winger Louis Saha and Dennis Wise to Ho Chi Minh City for Friday’s draw.

Seventy EFL clubs will feature and teams will be drawn into northern and southern sections for ties to be played in the week commencing August 13.

Thai energy drinks firm Carabao, sponsors of the League Cup, took the draw to Bangkok last summer at the start of their three-year deal, but it was beset by problems.

An on-screen graphic showed Charlton playing twice and other clubs were given the wrong opponents. The EFL apologised for the errors.

The 2017 third-round draw took place in Beijing, China, at 4.15am here and the EFL defended the decision, pointing to the emerging Asian markets.

The quarter-final draw in London also proved problematic for the EFL, with the event delayed before a pre-recorded video of the draw was distributed.

The EFL last week announced there would be no extra-time in the competition, with matches level after 90 minutes going straight to a penalty shoot-out.

City are the holders, having won the trophy at Wembley in February with a convincing win over Arsenal in the final.