Man United handed third-round tie against Burton, Chelsea to face Forest

London, August 24: Defending champions Manchester United will open their EFL Cup campaign against Burton Albion in the third round.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the hero last season as United edged Southampton in extra time to claim the trophy, and Jose Mourinho's men are set to start their title defence at home to the Championship outfit in September.

It will be only the second meeting between the two sides following United's FA Cup third-round replay win in 2006.

The draw was heavily criticised prior to Thursday due to the location and unusual time, with it scheduled to be staged in Beijing at 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT) in the Chinese capital.

#CarabaoCup: Round Three Draw :trophy:@ManUtd v @burtonalbionfc pic.twitter.com/TEv0QWEKey

— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) August 24, 2017

And fans in Britain who set their alarms to follow the draw were left frustrated and waiting impatiently for proceedings to get underway.

When the draw finally started, 2016 winners Manchester City found out their opponents early as they received a trip to fellow Premier League side West Brom.

City lost in the fourth round last term and this season's tie could see West Brom defender Jonny Evans – a reported target for Pep Guardiola – potentially feature at The Hawthorns as a visiting player.

Premier League champions Chelsea are at home, welcoming Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge after the latter stunned Newcastle United in the second round, while Tottenham will face either Barnsley or Derby County.

Liverpool – eight-time winners – will visit Leicester City in the third round. Jurgen Klopp's men, who booked their spot in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, were beaten in the semi-finals by Southampton last season.

League One's Doncaster Rovers will head to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal – runners-up in 2011.

There will also be a reunion when Burnley's record signing Chris Wood faces former team Leeds United, while Wolves – who ousted last season's finalists Southampton in the second round – take on Bristol Rovers.

The draw in full with ties to be played week commencing September 18:

West Brom v Manchester City Everton v Sunderland Leicester City v Liverpool Manchester United v Burton Albion Brentford v Norwich City Wolves v Bristol Rovers Burnley v Leeds United Arsenal v Doncaster Rovers Bristol City v Stoke City Reading v Swansea City Aston Villa v Middlesbrough Chelsea v Nottingham Forest West Ham v Bolton Crystal Palace v Huddersfield Town Tottenham v Barnsley/Derby County Bournemouth v Brighton and Hove Albion

Source: OPTA