Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
The 2025/26 Carabao Cup kicks off on Tuesday night, giving English Football League clubs one of their annual chances to compete against the Premier League big boys for silverware.
Last year’s winners, Newcastle United, had to face then-League Two AFC Wimbledon on their way to Wembley, and every campaign sees at least one EFL side cause a glorious upset. Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City and Preston North End made it to the fourth round last term.
However, not every single side is concerned with a cup run, especially in the Championship. When the aims of promotion or the potential threat of relegation are on the cards, managers have often played weakened XIs to preserve their best sides for league action instead.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t clubs who are dreaming of the chance to bring their fans on a historic journey towards a trophy – and this season, there are three in particular that EFL Analysis believe will be going all out to go as far in the Carabao Cup as they can.
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Coventry City
There is arguably no better time for Coventry City to go on another exciting trophy run than under Frank Lampard.
The Sky Blues came agonisingly close to an FA Cup final in 2024, only for Manchester United to scrape through on penalties after their goal was controversially disallowed for offside in extra time.
Although that incredible cup run came under Mark Robins, Coventry have shown they are more than capable of tournament football, and being managed by a two-time League Cup winner who led them to finish fifth last season with a point to prove in the dugout will certainly help their endeavours.
The Midlands outfit have been tipped to finish inside the play-offs by many, but given their first round opponents Luton Town stopped them from being promoted to the Premier League in 2023 via play-off penalties, there is even more reason for them to give this competition a right go.
Leicester City
Despite a looming point deduction for Leicester, some fans have made it clear that they have hopes of at least finishing in the play-offs.
However, winning breeds confidence, and if the Foxes want to fight to bounce back to the top flight, avoiding defeat in the cups will help them on their way.
Marti Cifuentes’ side squeezed past the Championship’s troubled side Sheffield Wednesday with a 2-1 victory on Sunday, courtesy of Wout Faes’ late goal and controversial celebration.
If Everton target Abdul Fatawu and Bilal El Khannouss do leave, and the points deduction takes its toll on their league campaign, Leicester may turn to focusing on bringing their fans some joy in the League Cup for the fourth time in their history. They face League One Huddersfield Town away on Tuesday.
Wrexham
Despite earning unprecedented back-to-back-to-back promotions to the Championship, Wrexham’s opening day defeat means they are not ranking high on fan and pundit tips for promotion this season, with some believing that an immediate jump to the Premier League may be a bridge too far.
The Welsh outfit have benefited highly from the Disney docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and their Hollywood owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, in terms of finances and an enormous media presence.
Phil Parkinson and co aren’t likely to have written themselves off in August, of course.
But if there’s no promotion tale to tell in the next season of the Disney show, what’s the next best thing? A cup run, of course! Well, that or a relegation scrap, as a mid-table finish isn’t exactly a glamorous sell, despite it being a solid finish from a football perspective.
Wrexham’s League Cup Runs Since Hollywood Takeover
- 2023/24 – Second Round
- 2024/25 – First Round
The Carabao Cup could be the next standout story in the Wrexham script. They face Hull City at home on Tuesday.