Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he's having to write off the Carabao Cup this season.
Spurs face rivals Chelsea in the fourth round on Tuesday night – their third game in a run of five matches in 11 days.
Mourinho insists the EFL have given him no choice but to make wholesale changes because Spurs must prioritise Thursday's clash with Maccabi Haifa in the more lucrative Europa League.
"I would like to fight for the Carabao but I don't think I can," he said. "We have a game on Thursday that gives us not as much money as the Champions League but the group phase of the Europa League gives us a certain amount that for a club like us is very important.
"It's a competition with a possible group phase that gives us a good chance to go through to the next knockout stage so this game on Thursday is very important for us."
On the prospect of rotating his squad, Mourinho added: "You can imagine that with a game on Thursday that decides a very important thing for us, I think the EFL made the decision for us. They didn't even create us a problem, they made the decision for us."
