2010–11 Football League Cup
| Carling Cup, League Cup | |||
| Country |
 England
|
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|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 9 August 2010 – 27 February 2011 | ||
| Teams | 92 | ||
| Champions | Birmingham City (2nd title) | ||
| Runners-up | Arsenal | ||
| Matches played | 93 | ||
| Goals scored | 314 (3.38 per match) | ||
| Top goal scorer(s) |
Carlton Cole Scott Sinclair (4 goals) |
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The 2010–11 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
Each season, the League Cup winners – like the winners of the FA Cup – are granted a place in the UEFA Europa League for the following season. However, in cases where a team has already gained a place in European competition via their league position or progress in other cup competitions, their place in the Europa League is deferred to the next-placed league side.
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 won their first major trophy since 1963.
The draw for the First Round took place on 16 June 2010, with matches played two months later in the week beginning 9 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.
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.
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