Carabao Cup match with Leyton Orient called off; Spurs expected to receive win

Tottenham Hotspur’s third round Carabao Cup match against Leyton Orient today will not happen.

Yesterday, Leyton Orient Football Club released the following statement regarding their first team squad with COVID-19 testing. The results were not good:

After a solid 24 hours of speculation from reporters, journalists and pundits; It’s now official: the third round match has been called off. It is now expected that Tottenham Hotspur will be awarded the win and move on to face the winner of Chelsea and Barnsley.

There were rumblings yesterday by both Dan Kilpatrick and Charlie Eccleshare that the match was in trouble once word broke of the positive tests. Spurs had stepped in to help the lower division side by paying for testing to help out the League Two club. Currently, League Two is not required to go through COVID-19 testing.

Kilpatrick reported earlier today that Leyton Orient were trying their best to have the match rescheduled.

There’s no other way to put this: It sucks. Yes, Spurs are getting a match off at the absolute best time and we all certainly knew that canceled matches were a possibility. It doesn’t change how empty this feels. It’s a stark reminder of what the world is going through.

While we wait for the EFL to give us the official word, let’s look ahead at the expected outcome. Spurs, if they are indeed given the win, should step in and provide both the winner’s purse and the TV revenue to Leyton Orient. It’s a drop in the ocean to Tottenham Hotspur but can go a long way for a lower division club. While Spurs weren’t necessarily going to punt this match today since Dele was going to play and Mourinho had said he might need Harry Kane to play, this was not going to be a full strength squad.

For now, we wait for the official announcement, but that seems to be a formality. With fixtures congested for Spurs and Leyton Orient having to quarantine a large portion of their first team squad, there’s no feasible spot to place this match. In the end, it’s also best for the players’ safety.

UPDATE (11:33 AM): Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the match is off, but they are saying it is not taking place at this time. It does not confirm if a win has been awarded or it is a postponement.

This is the official statement:

Tonight’s Carabao Cup match between Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur is not taking place this evening as scheduled.

Discussions are ongoing between the relevant stakeholders in regards to the implications of the decision not to play tonight’s game and a further update will be provided in due course.

Leyton Orient, the EFL and the relevant authorities are conducting a thorough review of the club’s Covid-19 secure procedures with the view to reopening the stadium and training ground as soon as possible.