In the absence of European football this season, Manchester United enters the Carabao Cup at the second round — a structural consequence that places them among the unseeded clubs of the northern section, awaiting tonight's draw. Around 7:20pm, chance will determine whether their domestic cup campaign begins against Premier League peers or lower-league opposition, a small but telling reminder that every season carries its own particular shape. For a club that lifted this trophy as recently as 2023, the draw is less a moment of anxiety than one of orientation — the first coordinate plotted on a