# 2007–08 Football League Cup

The 2007–08 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 48th staging of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system. The winners qualified for the first round of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, if not already qualified for European competitions.
The competition began on 13 August 2007, and ended with the final on 24 February 2008. Wembley Stadium in London hosted the final match for the first time since its major renovation completed.
The tournament was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who beat holders Chelsea 2–1 in the final, thanks to goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Jonathan Woodgate. Didier Drogba scored the opener for Chelsea.

## First round

The 72 Football League clubs started in the first round, which was 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 depended upon their finishing position in the 2006–07 season. Therefore, the clubs relegated from the Premier League in 2007; Watford, Charlton Athletic (south) and Sheffield United (north) were the top seeds, and the clubs newly promoted to the Football League, Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge, were bottom seeds in north and south sections respectively.
* On 13 June 2007 seeded clubs and unseeded clubs were paired off to create the first round draw.
* Matches occurred during the week commencing 13 August 2007.
* Extra time played when the scores were level after 90 minutes.
North :
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | Bradford City | 9,625 |
| 2 | Grimsby Town | 0–0 | Burnley | 2,431 |
| 1–1 after extra time – Burnley won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 3 | Rochdale | 1–1 | Stoke City | 2,369 |
| 2–2 after extra time – Rochdale won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 4 | Scunthorpe United | 1–2 | Hartlepool United | 2,965 |
| 5 | Port Vale | 1–1 | Wrexham | 2,916 |
| After extra time – Wrexham won 5–3 on penalties |||||
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra | 0–3 | Hull City | 2,862 |
| 7 | Chester City | 0–0 | Nottingham Forest | 2,720 |
| After extra time – Nottingham Forest won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 8 | Sheffield United | 3–1 | Chesterfield | 11,170 |
| 9 | Rotherham United | 1–3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 6,416 |
| 10 | Barnsley | 2–1 | Darlington | 3,780 |
| 11 | Bury | 0–1 | Carlisle United | 2,213 |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 4–1 | Lincoln City | 5,084 |
| 13 | Preston North End | 1–2 | Morecambe | 7,703 |
| 14 | Stockport County | 1–0 | Tranmere Rovers | 3,944 |
| 15 | Accrington Stanley | 0–1 | Leicester City | 2,029 |
| 16 | Macclesfield Town | 0–1 | Leeds United | 3,422 |
| 17 | Oldham Athletic | 4–1 | Mansfield Town | 3,155 |
| 18 | Blackpool | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town | 6,395 |
South :
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Watford | 3–0 | Gillingham | 8,166 |
| 2 | Swindon Town | 0–2 | Charlton Athletic | 6,175 |
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 2–2 | Ipswich Town | 7,496 |
| 3–3 after extra time – Milton Keynes Dons won 5–3 on penalties |||||
| 4 | Southend United | 1–1 | Cheltenham Town | 3,084 |
| Southend United won 4–1 after extra time |||||
| 5 | Norwich City | 5–2 | Barnet | 13,971 |
| 6 | Shrewsbury Town | 0–0 | Colchester United | 3,069 |
| Shrewsbury Town won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 7 | Cardiff City | 0–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3,726 |
| Cardiff City won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 8 | Swansea City | 2–0 | Walsall | 6,943 |
| 9 | Brentford | 0–3 | Bristol City | 2,213 |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 1–1 | Crystal Palace | 5,566 |
| After extra time – Bristol Rovers won 4–1 on penalties |||||
| 11 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–0 | AFC Bournemouth | 10,250 |
| 12 | Peterborough United | 2–1 | Southampton | 4,087 |
| 13 | Hereford United | 4–1 | Yeovil Town | 2,085 |
| 14 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–2 | Leyton Orient | 5,260 |
| 15 | Northampton Town | 2–0 | Millwall | 1,735 |
| 16 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 1–2 | Luton Town | 1,754 |
| 17 | Plymouth Argyle | 2–1 | Wycombe Wanderers | 5,474 |
| 18 | Coventry City | 3–0 | Notts County | 6,735 |

## Second round

The 36 winners from the first round joined the 12 Premier League clubs not participating in European competitions in the second round.
* Round two was drawn on 16 August.
* Matches occurred during the week commencing 28 August.
* Extra time played when the scores were level after 90 minutes.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle | 2–0 | Doncaster Rovers | 5,133 |
| 2 | Southend United | 2–0 | Watford | 5,554 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | A–A | Leicester City | |
| Original match abandoned due to serious player illness; rematch took place on 18 September. |||||
| Rematch | Nottingham Forest$^2$ | 2–3 | Leicester City | 15,519 |
| 4 | Wigan Athletic | 0–1 | Hull City | 5,440 |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 2–1 | Hereford United | 10,185 |
| 6 | Carlisle United | 0–2 | Coventry City | 5,744 |
| 7 | Bristol Rovers | 1–2 | West Ham United | 10,831 |
| 8 | Derby County | 1–1 | Blackpool | 8,658 |
| 2–2 after extra time – Blackpool won 7–6 on penalties |||||
| 9 | Rochdale | 1–1 | Norwich City | 2,990 |
| After extra time – Norwich won 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 10 | Portsmouth | 3–0 | Leeds United | 8,502 |
| 11 | Cardiff City | 1–0 | Leyton Orient | 6,150 |
| 12 | Milton Keynes Dons | 2–2 | Sheffield United | 7,943 |
| Sheffield United won 3–2 after extra time |||||
| 13 | Burnley | 3–0 | Oldham Athletic | 7,317 |
| 14 | Swansea City | 0–0 | Reading | 12,027 |
| Reading won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 15 | Peterborough United | 0–2 | West Bromwich Albion | 4,917 |
| 16 | Shrewsbury Town | 0–1 | Fulham | 6,223 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Morecambe | 11,296 |
| Morecambe won 3–1 after extra time |||||
| 18 | Middlesbrough | 2–0 | Northampton Town | 11,686 |
| 19 | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | Hartlepool United | 8,751 |
| Sheffield Wednesday won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 20 | Luton Town | 3–0 | Sunderland | 4,401 |
| 21 | Wrexham | 0–5 | Aston Villa | 8,221 |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic | 4–3 | Stockport County | 8,022 |
| 23 | Newcastle United | 2–0 | Barnsley | 30,523 |
| 24 | Bristol City | 1–2 | Manchester City | 19,941 |
$^1$ Score after 90 minutes $^2$ As Nottingham Forest were leading 1–0 at the time of the abandonment of the first meeting, they were given a "free goal" by Leicester City, who allowed Forest goalkeeper Paul Smith to dribble up the pitch uncontested and score straight from the kick-off.

## Third round

The 24 winners from the second round joined the eight Premier League clubs participating in European competitions in the third round. The draw was made on 1 September. Matches were played on 25 September and 26 September.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Blackburn Rovers | 3–0 | Birmingham City | 9,205 |
| 2 | Reading | 2–4 | Liverpool | 23,563 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 0–2 | Coventry City | 74,055 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Middlesbrough | 32,280 |
| 5 | Hull City | 0–4 | Chelsea | 23,543 |
| 6 | Blackpool | 1–1 | Southend United | 5,022 |
| Blackpool won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 7 | West Ham United | 1–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 25,774 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Newcastle United | 60,004 |
| 9 | Luton Town | 1–1 | Charlton Athletic | 4,534 |
| Luton Town won 3–1 after extra time |||||
| 10 | Manchester City | 1–0 | Norwich City | 20,938 |
| 11 | Sheffield United | 5–0 | Morecambe | 8,854 |
| 12 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0–3 | Everton | 16,463 |
| 13 | Fulham | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 10,500 |
| Bolton Wanderers won 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 14 | Burnley | 0–1 | Portsmouth | 8,202 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 0–1 | Leicester City | 25,956 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–4 | Cardiff City | 14,085 |
$^1$ Score after 90 minutes

## Fourth round

The draw for the fourth round was made on 29 September 2007 and matches were played in the week commencing 29 October.
| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Attendance |
| 1 | Luton Town | 0–0 | Everton | 8,944 |
| Everton won 1–0 after extra time |||||
| 2 | Portsmouth | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | 11,788 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 4–3 | Leicester City | 40,037 |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 0–3 | Arsenal | 16,971 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Blackpool | 32,196 |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 0–1 | Manchester City | 15,510 |
| 7 | Coventry City | 1–2 | West Ham United | 23,968 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 41,780 |
$^1$ Score after 90 minutes

## Fifth round

The draw for the fifth round was made on 3 November 2007. Matches were played in the week beginning 17 December 2007, with the exception of the match between West Ham United and Everton, which was played on 12 December due to Everton's commitments in the UEFA Cup.

## Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made on 19 December 2007 at 22:00 GMT. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The ties were played in the weeks beginning 9 January and 21 January 2008.

### Second leg

Chelsea won 3–1 on aggregate
Tottenham won 6–2 on aggregate

## Final

The 2008 League Cup Final was played on 24 February 2008 and was the first to be played at Wembley Stadium since 2000.