• Carabao Cup to scrap two-legged semis
• Fixture congestion motivates change
• Premier League to help with EFL funding

The EFL have been convinced to switch to one-off semi-final games. According to the Daily Mail, the organisation has been negotiating a broadcast deal with Sky Sports starting next season that includes no penalty charge for scrapping two-legged semis, as well as proposed funding from the Premier League worth £900 million over six years. That package must first be signed off by the 20 top-flight clubs, who have already been made aware of the format change proposal.

 The League Cup (run by the EFL and known by a variety of sponsor names over the years) has had two-legged semi-finals since it debuted in the 1960-61 season. Two-legged ties were additionally introduced to early rounds from the mid-1970s, but were scrapped in 2001. Fixture congestion is the leading motivation for the semi-finals to now follow suit and has been for some time. But with the competition a major source of revenue for the EFL and the January semi-finals of particular broadcast interest, other things have had to fall into place before the change can happen.