Which teams have won the Carabao Cup the most times?

The Carabao Cup gets back underway at the beginning of the 2023/24 season!

Will one of these Clubs lift the trophy this year? Here are the teams who have won the competition the most times…

Liverpool (9)

Having last won the competition in 2022 when the Merseysiders lifted the trophy a decade on from their last triumph, Liverpool have their name etched on the silverware more times than any other team.

The Reds, who have won the League Cup nine times, asserted their authority on the competition in the 1980s when they finally got their hands on the one trophy that had evaded them. After overcoming West Ham United over a two-legged Final, Liverpool went on to win the competition four times on the bounce.

It wasn’t until 1995 when they won it again, going on to taste victory twice in the Final at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 and 2003, before returning to the capital in 2012. It was only fitting that in 2022, it was Jordan Henderson – the only remaining member of that team from 10 years ago – who got his hands on the trophy in a record-breaking showdown.

Years won: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2022

Manchester City (8)

In total, Premier League giants Manchester City have claimed eight scalps in the League Cup out of the nine Finals they’ve been involved in. Tony Book first skippered the side to victory in the 1970 Final against West Bromwich Albion and the defender would go on to become the first person to win the trophy both as a player and a manager when the Sky Blues returned to the National Stadium six years later.

Perhaps one of the Club’s most famous triumphs in the competition came in 1976. With 100,000 fans in attendance, Dennis Tueart won it for City with a famous overhead kick.

More recently, Pep Guardiola’s team have been a dominant force in the competition. Between 2018 and 2021, City won the competitive four times consecutively, equalling Liverpool’s long-standing record in 2021 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the first Wembley Final to welcome supporters back since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Years won: 1970, 1976, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

Manchester United (6)

Reigning champions Manchester United lifted their first domestic trophy in six years when they saw off Newcastle United in last season’s Carabao Cup Final. The Red Devils’ last triumph came in this competition in 2017 and they finally ended their wait in February at Wembley.

After coming runners-up in 1991 to Sheffield Wednesday, United were victorious over Nottingham Forest in 1992 – the Club’s third appearance in a League Cup Final but their first win to get them off the mark.

They went on to win the competition in 2006 and again in 2009. The 2010 Final commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the League Cup and Man Utd beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the milestone showpiece as Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney struck either side of the break for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.

Years won: 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2023

Aston Villa (5)

One of the founding members of the League, Aston Villa were the inaugural winners of the League Cup in 1961. Trailing 2-0 in the first leg against opponents Rotherham United, the Villains came from behind to win 3-0 at Villa Park and become the first team to win the competition.

In 1975, the Final was contested between two Second Division teams for the first time as Villa faced off against Norwich City, coming out on top and going on to win promotion back to the top-flight in the same season.

Two years later, Villa won it again in 1977 in the only Final which needed three games to decide a winner between the West Midlands team and Everton after a replay and a second replay eventually saw the Villains take the crown. Villa would win it again in 1994 and a fifth time in 1996

Years won: 1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996

Chelsea (5)

Level with Villa, five-time winners Chelsea edged out holders Leicester City in their first conquest in 1965, winning the League Cup again over three decades later when they beat Middlesbrough in extra-time.

Three of the Blues’ League Cup triumphs have come under former manager Jose Mourinho. After beating Liverpool in the 2005 Final in a five-goal thriller in Wales, the 60-year-old added his first trophy to the silverware cabinet at Stamford Bridge and it wasn’t his last, either.

And Mourinho’s Chelsea side faced Tottenham Hotspur in the 2015 Final in a London derby in a 2-0 victory with goals from John Terry and Diego Costa.

Years won: 1965, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2015