West Ham draw London derby for round 3 of Carabao Cup

West Ham's reward for Tuesday's 4-1 romp at Southampton is a home London derby against Fulham in the Carabao Cup third round, with the Hammers drawn at the London Stadium after avoiding the European-competition heavyweights still involved in the competition.

The draw had initially paired West Ham with the winner of Fulham's second-round tie against League One's AFC Wimbledon, and Fulham settled that question emphatically on Thursday, beating the Dons 3-0 at Craven Cottage. That result sets up a cross-London tie, a considerably kinder outcome than facing one of the six Champions League or Europa League entrants also in Wednesday's draw.

This will be West Ham's second home tie of the competition, following wins over Portsmouth in round one and their away trip to Southampton in round two. A return to the London Stadium continues what's been a lucrative run for supporters this cup campaign. The first-round win over Portsmouth was played in front of a record-breaking crowd for the stage, and a London derby against a Premier League rival should draw another strong turnout.

Given how comprehensively West Ham's academy players performed against Southampton, with Josh Ajala's brace the headline moment in a night where six academy products started. There's a reasonable case for Nuno Espírito Santo to lean on that group again. Fulham represent a step up in quality from Southampton's second string, but after the manner of Tuesday's win, there's little reason for Nuno to abandon what's clearly working. The tie is scheduled for the midweek window commencing September 7th, giving the young Hammers another shot at senior knockout football.