# 2010–11 Football League Cup

The 2010–11 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system.
The winners were granted a place in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. However, in cases where a team had already gained a place in European competition via their league position or progress in other cup competitions, their place in the Europa League was deferred to the next best-placed league side not already qualified for European competitions.
Manchester United were the defending champions for the second successive season, but were knocked out in the fifth round by West Ham United.
The final was contested on 27 February 2011 between Arsenal and Birmingham City. Birmingham were the surprise 2–1 winners in the final to win just the second major trophy in their history. Birmingham City also won their first major trophy since 1963 (also a League Cup) and earned a place in European competition for the first time since 1961.

## First round

The draw for the first round took place on 16 June 2010, with matches played two months later on 10 August 2010.
Burnley and Hull City received a First Round bye as the highest ranked teams from the previous season's league placings. The other 70 of the 72 Football League clubs competed in the first round, divided into North and South sections. Each section was divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 2009–10 season.

## Second round

The 13 Premier League teams not involved in European competitions entered at this stage along with the winners from the first round plus Burnley and Hull City, who had received a First Round bye. If there is a draw at full-time there will be extra time followed by a penalty shootout if the scores are still level. From the second round onwards, the teams are no longer split geographically. The draw for the second round took place on the evening of 11 August 2010, after the first-round matches had been completed, and the matches were played in the week beginning 23 August 2010.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Accrington Stanley | 2–3 | Newcastle United | 4,098 |
| 2 | Portsmouth | 1–1 | Crystal Palace | 8,412 |
| 1–1 after extra time–Portsmouth won 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 3 | Leeds United | 1–2 | Leicester City | 16,509 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Southend United | 10,284 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | Norwich City | 9,235 |
| 6 | Milton Keynes Dons | 3–3 | Blackpool | 7,458 |
| Milton Keynes Dons won 4–3 after extra time |||||
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–3 | Swansea City | 2,450 |
| 8 | Everton | 5–1 | Huddersfield Town | 28,901 |
| 9 | Peterborough United | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 3,806 |
| 10 | Reading | 2–2 | Northampton Town | 6,986 |
| 3–3 after extra time–Northampton Town won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 11 | Scunthorpe United | 4–2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4,680 |
| 12 | Brentford | 2–1 | Hull City | 3,335 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 2–0 | Colchester United | 13,532 |
| 14 | Leyton Orient | 0–2 | West Bromwich Albion | 2,349 |
| 15 | Morecambe | 1–3 | Burnley | 5,003 |
| 16 | Birmingham City | 3–2 | Rochdale | 6,431 |
| 17 | Crewe Alexandra | 0–0 | Ipswich Town | 3,309 |
| Ipswich Town won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 18 | Watford | 1–2 | Notts County | 6,434 |
| 19 | West Ham United | 1–0 | Oxford United | 20,902 |
| 20 | Southampton | 0–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 10,251 |
| 21 | Bradford City | 1–1 | Preston North End | 4,221 |
| Preston North End won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 22 | Fulham | 6–0 | Port Vale | 9,031 |
| 23 | Millwall | 2–1 | Middlesbrough | 6,704 |
| 24 | Stoke City | 2–1 | Shrewsbury Town | 11,995 |
| 25 | Hartlepool United | 0–3 | Wigan Athletic | 3,196 |

## Third round

The seven Premier League teams involved in European competition entered at this stage, along with the winners from the second round. The draw for the Third Round took place on 28 August 2010, after the second-round games had been played. The matches were played in the week beginning 20 September 2010. Northampton Town were the only League Two side to reach this round of the tournament.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Brentford | 1–1 | Everton | 8,960 |
| 1–1 after extra time–Brentford won 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 2 | Portsmouth | 1–2 | Leicester City | 8,327 |
| 3 | Stoke City | 2–0 | Fulham | 12,778 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 3–4 | Newcastle United | 41,511 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Blackburn Rovers | 18,753 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Arsenal | 35,883 |
| Arsenal won 4–1 after extra time |||||
| 7 | Millwall | 1–2 | Ipswich Town | 5,070 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Notts County | 11,516 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4–2 after extra time |||||
| 9 | Burnley | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 17,602 |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 3–1 | Milton Keynes Dons | 9,450 |
| 11 | Liverpool | 1–1 | Northampton Town | 22,577 |
| 2–2 after extra time–Northampton Town won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 12 | Scunthorpe United | 2–5 | Manchester United | 9,077 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | Manchester City | 10,418 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 1–2 | West Ham United | 21,907 |
| 15 | Peterborough United | 1–3 | Swansea City | 4,164 |
| 16 | Wigan Athletic | 2–1 | Preston North End | 6,987 |
$^1$ Score after 90 minutes

## Fourth round

The Fourth Round draw took place on 25 September 2010, and the matches were played on the week commencing 25 October 2010. For the second consecutive round, Northampton Town was the lowest ranked remaining side, being the lone representative from League Two. All four leagues involved in this competition had representation in the Fourth Round for the first time since the 2006–07 competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Newcastle United | 0–4 | Arsenal | 33,157 |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 1–1 | Brentford | 15,166 |
| 1–1 after extra time–Birmingham City won 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 3 | Wigan Athletic | 2–0 | Swansea City | 11,705 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Burnley | 34,618 |
| Aston Villa won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 5 | Leicester City | 1–4 | West Bromwich Albion | 16,957 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 3–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46,083 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 1–1 | Stoke City | 25,304 |
| West Ham United won 3–1 after extra time |||||
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 3–1 | Northampton Town | 12,929 |
$^1$ Score after 90 minutes

## Fifth round

Ipswich Town was the lowest ranked side left in the competition, and the sole remaining representative of the Championship in the fifth round draw, which took place on 30 October 2010. Matches were played in the week commencing 29 November 2010.

## Semi-finals

The semi-final draw took place on 1 December 2010, after the completion of the Fifth Round matches. The first leg matches were played the week commencing 10 January 2011, with the second legs a fortnight later.

### Second leg

Arsenal won 3–1 on aggregate.
Birmingham City won 4–3 on aggregate.

## Final

The final was played at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday, 27 February 2011.

## Prize money

The prize money was awarded by the Football League. The winners of the League Cup won £100,000 and the runners-up won £50,000. The losing semi-finalists each took home £25,000.