All you need to know about 2025/26 Carabao Cup draw and how EFL clubs will be impacted

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The start of a new league season also means the return of the Carabao Cup.

With nine Premier League clubs set to compete in European football this season, the format will look a little different this year.

As usual, all Championship and League One clubs will enter at the first round stage, but for four League Two sides, a preliminary round has been introduced to determine who will join the other 70 clubs in the competition.

Ahead of the draw, EFL Analysis has provided a full rundown of the draw including how the preliminary round works, the date of each round and how much teams could earn from a run all the way to the final.

• READ MORE: All 24 teams confirmed for 2025/26 Championship season as second tier looks set for most competitive campaign yet

Who competes in the Carabao Cup?

Every side in the Football League competes in the Carabao Cup.

All Football League clubs enter from the first round before the Premier League teams then come into the second round.

Those sides competing in European competitions then join at the third round stage.

Why is there a preliminary round in the Carabao Cup this year?

Due to the number of top flight teams playing in Europe (nine), changes have had to be made to the competition.

This means that the two newly-promoted League Two teams (Barnet and Oldham Athletic) will face the sides that finished 21st and 22nd last season (Accrington Stanley and Newport County).

Oldham will face Accrington and Barnet will play Newport.

As part of the change, the teams that finished 18th and 19th in the Premier League, Leicester City and Ipswich Town will start in the first round instead of the second, like they would’ve done in previous years.

How does the Carabao Cup draw work?

Like previous seasons, the first round will be split into a north and south section.

For example, this means that Barrow cannot draw Exeter City in the first round, but Exeter could face Stevenage.

When is the draw for the Carabao Cup?

The Carabao Cup Round One Draw will take place live on Sky Sports News at 4:30pm on Thursday 26 June, as part of the EFL’s Fixture Release Day.

The draw for the preliminary round to determine who is at home and who is away is made on the same day, too.

Carabao Cup 2025/26 fixture dates

• Preliminary round: week commencing 4 August 2025
• Round one: week commencing 11 August 2025
• Round two: week commencing 25 August 2025
• Round three: split between week commencing 15 September and 22 September 2025 to accommodate clubs participating in Champions League and Europa League
• Round four: week commencing 27 October 2025
• Round five: week commencing 15 December 2025
• Semi-final first leg: week commencing 12 January 2026
• Semi-final second leg: week commencing 2 February 2026
• Final: Sunday, 22 March 2026

Who won the Carabao Cup last season?

Newcastle United ended a 70-year wait to win a trophy after they beat Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Where will the Carabao Cup final be played?

The final of the Carabao Cup will take place at a slightly later date than usual on Sunday 22 March, 2026 at Wembley Stadium.

Carabao Cup prize money

Compared to most competitions, the Carabao Cup’s prize money is rather small.

The Championship play-off final is the most expensive game in football and Leeds United got more for winning the league than they would’ve had they won the cup.

How to watch Carabao Cup games on TV?

Live action from the Carabao Cup will be available to watch on  Sky Sports and ITV. Like last season, Sky Sports will have full live coverage of every game from the first round all the way to the final. ITV will stream at least one game from each round right up until the final.

Carabao Cup live stream

Fans of EFL clubs will also be able to stream the games live on the Sky Go app or the ITVX app to ensure you don’t miss any of the action.

Carabao Cup highlights

All of the games will be available as highlights on the Carabao Cup YouTube channel, as well as on ITV and ITVX.