2025–26 EFL Cup

2025–26 EFL Cup
Carabao Cup
	Wembley Stadium will host the final in March
Tournament details
Country	England; Wales
Dates	29 July 2025 – 22 March 2026
Teams	92
Defending champions	Newcastle United
Tournament statistics
Matches played	36
Goals scored	89 (2.47 per match)
	; All statistics correct as of 13 August 2025.

The 2025–26 EFL Cup is the 65th and current season of the English Football League Cup. It is sponsored by Carabao Energy Drink and known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons. The EFL Cup is open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League.

The winner of the competition qualifies for the play-off round of the 2026–27 UEFA Conference League.

Newcastle United are the defending champions, having beaten Liverpool in the previous season's final.

Teams

All 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League entered the season's EFL Cup. Access was distributed across the top 4 leagues of the English football league system.

There will be a preliminary round before the first one due to the number of teams participating in Europe. This round consists of the two newly promoted sides to 2025–26 League Two – Barnet and Oldham Athletic – and the two lowest finishers not relegated from 2024–25 League Two, Accrington Stanley and Newport County.^[2]

Phase^[2]	Clubs entering in this round	Clubs advancing from previous round	Number of games	Week commencing
Preliminary round (4 clubs)	4 clubs from EFL League Two (lowest ranked not relegated from 24–25 and newly-promoted)	N/A	2	4 August 2025
First round (70 clubs)	20 clubs from EFL League Two 24 clubs from EFL League One 24 clubs from EFL Championship	2 winners from Preliminary round	35	11 August 2025
Second round (46 clubs)	11 Premier League clubs (not involved in European competitions)	35 winners from first round	23	25 August 2025
Third round (32 clubs)	9 Premier League clubs (involved in European competitions)	23 winners from second round	16	15 September 2025 22 September 2025
Fourth round (16 clubs)	—	16 winners from third round	8	27 October 2025
Quarter-finals (8 clubs)	—	8 winners from fourth round	4	15 December 2025
Semi-finals (4 clubs)	—	4 winners from quarter-finals	4 (two-legged)	12 January 2026 2 February 2026
Final (2 clubs)	—	2 winners from semi-finals	1	22 March 2026

Preliminary round

A total of four teams played in the preliminary round: two newly-promoted sides from National League (tier 5), and two lowest non-relegated League Two sides (tier 4). The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into "northern" and "southern" sections, where teams were drawn against a team from the same section. The draw was made on 26 June 2025 by Shay Given and John Barnes, together with the draw for the first round.^[3]

Number of teams per tier still in the competition
Premier League^[a]	Championship^[b]	League One^[b]	League Two^[c]	Total
20 / 20	24 / 24	24 / 24	24 / 24	92 / 92

^ Premier League teams joined the competition in the second and third rounds.
^ ^a ^b Championship and League One teams joined the competition in the first round.
^ The top 20 League Two teams joined the competition in the first round.

Northern section

5 August 2025	Accrington Stanley (4)	3–1	Oldham Athletic (4)	Accrington
19:45 BST	Popoola 10' Mooney 17' J. Woods 34'	Report	Ogle 63'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 2,042 Referee: Scott Oldham

Southern section

29 July 2025	Barnet (4)	2–2 (2–4 p)	Newport County (4)	Edgware
19:30 BST	Galvin 90+7' Browne 90+9'	Report	Antwi 31' Reindorf 42'	Stadium: The Hive Stadium Attendance: 1,789 Referee: Darren Drysdale
	Penalties
	Adeniran Browne Hugill Smith		Garner Lloyd Antwi Kamwa Ca. Evans

First round

A total of 70 teams played in the first round: 2 winners from the preliminary round, 20 from League Two (tier 4), 24 from League One (tier 3), and 24 from the Championship (tier 2). The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into "northern" and "southern" sections, where teams were drawn against a team from the same section. The draw was made on 26 June 2025 by Shay Given and John Barnes, together with the draw for the preliminary round.^[3]

Number of teams per tier still in the competition
Premier League^[a]	Championship	League One	League Two	Total
20 / 20	24 / 24	24 / 24	22 / 24	90 / 92

^ Premier League teams joined the competition in the second and third rounds.

Northern section

12 August 2025	Barrow (4)	0–1	Preston North End (2)	Barrow-in-Furness
19:30 BST		Report	Raglan 66' (o.g.)	Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 3,108 Referee: Ross Joyce

12 August 2025	Middlesbrough (2)	0–4	Doncaster Rovers (3)	Middlesbrough
19:30 BST		Report	Close 11' Ajayi 23' Gotts 84' Nixon 90+6'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 11,979 Referee: Matthew Corlett

12 August 2025	Stockport County (3)	3–1	Crewe Alexandra (4)	Stockport
19:30 BST	Wootton 49' Lowe 52' Fiorini 77'	Report	Tezgel 86'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 4,945 Referee: Scott Jackson

12 August 2025	Accrington Stanley (4)	2–1	Peterborough United (3)	Accrington
19:45 BST	Henderson 1' Mooney 25'	Report	Collins 79'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 847 Referee: Aaron Bannister

12 August 2025	Blackburn Rovers (2)	1–2	Bradford City (3)	Blackburn
19:45 BST	De Neve 45+4'	Report	Touray 2' Swan 4'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 9,855 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

12 August 2025	Blackpool (3)	0–1	Port Vale (3)	Blackpool
19:45 BST		Report	Faal 75'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 2,606 Referee: Simon Mather

12 August 2025	Chesterfield (4)	0–2	Mansfield Town (3)	Chesterfield
19:45 BST		Report	Oates 2' Evans 59'	Stadium: SMH Group Stadium Attendance: 9,502 Referee: Adam Herczeg

12 August 2025	Grimsby Town (4)	3–1	Shrewsbury Town (4)	Cleethorpes
19:45 BST	Amaluzor 15' Gardner 50' Kabia 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Sang 63'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 3,156 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

12 August 2025	Harrogate Town (4)	1–3	Lincoln City (3)	Harrogate
19:45 BST	Taylor 90+5'	Report	Moylan 29' Draper 60' Street 68'	Stadium: Wetherby Road Attendance: 2,119 Referee: Zac Kennard-Kettle

12 August 2025	Salford City (4)	0–0 (2–3 p)	Rotherham United (3)	Salford
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 1,409 Referee: Edward Duckworth
	Penalties
	Edwards Garbutt Woodburn Grant N'Mai		Powell Holmes Gore Hall

12 August 2025	Stoke City (2)	0–0 (4–3 p)	Walsall (4)	Stoke-on-Trent
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Bet365 Stadium Attendance: 8,809 Referee: James Bell
	Penalties
	Baker Donely Mubama Bae Jun-ho Bonham		Matt Stuttle Flint Jellis Adomah

12 August 2025	West Bromwich Albion (2)	1–1 (2–3 p)	Derby County (2)	West Bromwich
19:45 BST	Heggebø 67'	Report	Ward 90+6'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 8,548 Referee: Thomas Kirk
	Penalties
	Wallace Maja Mowatt Molumby Grant		Goudmijn Osborn Jackson Ward Adams

12 August 2025	Wigan Athletic (3)	1–0	Notts County (4)	Wigan
19:45 BST	Mullin 10' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Brick Community Stadium Attendance: 2,907 Referee: Ollie Yates

12 August 2025	Wrexham (2)	3–3 (5–3 p)	Hull City (2)	Wrexham
19:45 BST	Lee 31' Palmer 90+1', 90+2'	Report	McBurnie 36' Ndala 70' Crooks 81'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 10,106 Referee: Josh Smith
	Penalties
	McClean Lee Windass Palmer Marriott		Palmer Ndala Kamara Giles

13 August 2025	Barnsley (3)	2–2 (5–4 p)	Fleetwood Town (4)	Barnsley
19:45 BST	Russell 15' Mullarkey 59' (o.g.)	Report	Roberts 45+1' Devonport 90+4'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 3,259 Referee: Carl Brook
	Penalties
	Connell Russell Farrugia Farrell Kelly Cleary		Graydon Helm Devonport Hume Norwood Morrison

13 August 2025	Bolton Wanderers (3)	3–3 (2–4 p)	Sheffield Wednesday (2)	Bolton
19:45 BST	Osei-Tutu 36' Gale 77' Cozier-Duberry 90+2'	Report	Siqueira 8' Ugbo 77' Johnson 80'	Stadium: Toughsheet Community Stadium Attendance: 8,208 Referee: Oliver Langford
	Penalties
	Morley Cozier-Duberry Burstow Conway		McNeill J. Lowe M. Lowe Palmer

13 August 2025	Huddersfield Town (3)	2–2 (3–2 p)	Leicester City (2)	Huddersfield
19:45 BST	Vost 65' Ashia 76'	Report	Choudhury 54' Winks 68'	Stadium: Kirklees Stadium Attendance: 6,884 Referee: David Webb
	Penalties
	Taylor May Castledine Sørensen		Ayew Mavididi L. Thomas El Khannouss McAteer

13 August 2025	Birmingham City (2)	2–1	Sheffield United (2)	Birmingham
20:00 BST	Furuhashi 5' Stansfield 87'	Report	Hamer 72'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 16,357 Referee: Gavin Ward

19 August 2025	Tranmere Rovers (4)	1–1 (4–5 p)	Burton Albion (3)	Birkenhead
19:45 BST	Whitaker 37'	Report	Whitfield 10'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 3,524 Referee: Simon Mather
	Penalties
	Patrick Lowe Harris Blacker O'Connor Norman Davison		Whitfield Revan Larsson Tavares Williams Akoto Delap
Note: Fixture was initially scheduled for 12 August, but was postponed due to power failure.^[4]

Southern section

12 August 2025	Swansea City (2)	3–1	Crawley Town (4)	Swansea
19:00 BST	Ronald 4' Wales 67' Galbraith 90+4'	Report	Tshimanga 75'	Stadium: Swansea.com Stadium Attendance: 5,095 Referee: Ben Speedie

12 August 2025	Newport County (4)	0–1	Millwall (2)	Newport
19:30 BST		Report	Leonard 60'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,670 Referee: Scott Oldham

12 August 2025	Bristol City (2)	2–0	Milton Keynes Dons (4)	Bristol
19:45 BST	Knight 6' Hirakawa 61'	Report		Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 10,280 Referee: Bobby Madley

12 August 2025	Bristol Rovers (4)	0–2	Cambridge United (4)	Bristol
19:45 BST		Report	Appéré 29' Loft 75'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,681 Referee: Oliver Mackey

12 August 2025	Cardiff City (3)	2–1	Swindon Town (4)	Cardiff
19:45 BST	Ashford 21' R. Colwill 45+2'	Report	Ehibhatiomhan 55'	Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 7,160 Referee: Elliot Bell

12 August 2025	Charlton Athletic (2)	3–1	Stevenage (3)	Charlton
19:45 BST	Leaburn 27' Fullah 36' Berry 77'	Report	Freestone 86'	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 4,092 Referee: Craig Hicks

12 August 2025	Coventry City (2)	1–0	Luton Town (3)	Coventry
19:45 BST	Simms 57'	Report		Stadium: Coventry Building Society Arena Attendance: 10,595 Referee: Leigh Doughty

12 August 2025	Gillingham (4)	1–1 (2–4 p)	AFC Wimbledon (3)	Gillingham
19:45 BST	Coleman 83'	Report	Hackford 32'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 2,209 Referee: Neil Hair
	Penalties
	Clark J. Williams McKenzie Andrews		Stevens Kelly Hippolyte Smith

12 August 2025	Leyton Orient (3)	0–1	Wycombe Wanderers (3)	Leyton
19:45 BST		Report	Simpson 90+4' (o.g.)	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 3,293 Referee: Tom Nield

12 August 2025	Northampton Town (3)	0–1	Southampton (2)	Northampton
19:45 BST		Report	Fernandes 48'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,381 Referee: David Rock

12 August 2025	Oxford United (2)	1–0	Colchester United (4)	Oxford
19:45 BST	Goodrham 9'	Report		Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 3,453 Referee: Jacob Miles

12 August 2025	Plymouth Argyle (3)	3–2	Queens Park Rangers (2)	Plymouth
19:45 BST	Wiredu 48' Oseni 54', 78'	Report	Bennie 21' Kolli 45+2'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 10,884 Referee: John Busby

12 August 2025	Portsmouth (2)	1–2	Reading (3)	Portsmouth
19:45 BST	Singerr 90+3'	Report	Garcia 34' Ehibhatiomhan 38'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 14,525 Referee: Farai Hallam

12 August 2025	Watford (2)	1–2	Norwich City (2)	Watford
19:45 BST	Baah 68'	Report	Sargent 10' Núñez 24'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 9,243 Referee: Dean Whitestone

12 August 2025	Bromley (4)	1–1 (5–4 p)	Ipswich Town (2)	Bromley
20:00 BST	Elerewe 45'	Report	Johnson 53'	Stadium: Hayes Lane Attendance: 3,005 Referee: Matthew Russell
	Penalties
	Cheek Charles Arthurs Odutayo Pinnock Ifill		Hirst Szmodics Johnson Young Chaplin Al-Hamadi

13 August 2025	Cheltenham Town (4)	2–0	Exeter City (3)	Cheltenham
19:45 BST	Wilson 28' Broom 55'	Report		Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 2,109 Referee: Alan Young

Second round

A total of 46 teams will play in the second round: the 11 Premier League clubs not involved in European competitions entered at this stage along with the 35 winners from the first round. The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into "northern" and "southern" sections, where teams were drawn against a team from the same section. The draw was made on 13 August 2025 by Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, Lee Hendrie and Clinton Morrison.^[5]

Number of teams per tier still in the competition
Premier League^[a]	Championship	League One	League Two	Total
20 / 20	14 / 24	16 / 24	5 / 24	55 / 92

^ The nine Premier League teams involved in European competitions join the competition in the third round.

Northern section

26 August 2025	Accrington Stanley (4)	v	Doncaster Rovers (3)	Accrington
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Crown Ground

26 August 2025	Barnsley (3)	v	Rotherham United (3)	Barnsley
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Oakwell

26 August 2025	Birmingham City (2)	v	Port Vale (3)	Birmingham
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: St Andrew's

26 August 2025	Burnley (1)	v	Derby County (2)	Burnley
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Turf Moor

26 August 2025	Burton Albion (3)	v	Lincoln City (3)	Burton upon Trent
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Pirelli Stadium

26 August 2025	Preston North End (2)	v	Wrexham (2)	Preston
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Deepdale

26 August 2025	Stoke City (2)	v	Bradford City (3)	Stoke-on-Trent
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Bet365 Stadium

26 August 2025	Sunderland (1)	v	Huddersfield Town (3)	Sunderland
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light

26 August 2025	Wigan Athletic (3)	v	Stockport County (3)	Wigan
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Brick Community Stadium

26 August 2025	Sheffield Wednesday (2)	v	Leeds United (1)	Sheffield
20:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium

27 August 2025	Everton (1)	v	Mansfield Town (3)	Liverpool
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Hill Dickinson Stadium

27 August 2025	Grimsby Town (4)	v	Manchester United (1)	Cleethorpes
20:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Blundell Park

Southern section

26 August 2025	Cambridge United (4)	v	Charlton Athletic (2)	Cambridge
19:30 BST		Report		Stadium: Abbey Stadium

26 August 2025	Wolverhampton Wanderers (1)	v	West Ham United (1)	Wolverhampton
19:30 BST		Report		Stadium: Molineux Stadium

26 August 2025	Bournemouth (1)	v	Brentford (1)	Bournemouth
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Dean Court

26 August 2025	Bromley (4)	v	Wycombe Wanderers (3)	Bromley
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

26 August 2025	Cardiff City (3)	v	Cheltenham Town (4)	Cardiff
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium

26 August 2025	Millwall (2)	v	Coventry City (2)	Bermondsey
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: The Den

26 August 2025	Norwich City (2)	v	Southampton (2)	Norwich
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Carrow Road

26 August 2025	Reading (3)	v	AFC Wimbledon (3)	Reading
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Madejski Stadium

26 August 2025	Swansea City (2)	v	Plymouth Argyle (3)	Swansea
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Swansea.com Stadium

27 August 2025	Fulham (1)	v	Bristol City (2)	Fulham
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Craven Cottage

27 August 2025	Oxford United (2)	v	Brighton & Hove Albion (1)	Oxford
19:45 BST		Report		Stadium: Kassam Stadium

References

^ "Carabao Cup format confirmed for 2025/26 season". English Football League. 12 June 2025.
^ ^a ^b Holloway, Kate (12 June 2025). "Carabao Cup brings in preliminary round for 2025-26". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Carabao Cup Round One confirmed". English Football League. 26 June 2025.
^ Wareing, Dan (12 August 2025). "Hundreds left without power as cup tie postponed". BBC News. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
^ "Carabao Cup Round Two Confirmed". English Football League. 13 August 2025.

[4] Premier League teams joined the competition in the second and third rounds.

[ChampLge1-5] Championship and League One teams joined the competition in the first round.

[6] The top 20 League Two teams joined the competition in the first round.

[7] Premier League teams joined the competition in the second and third rounds.

[10] The nine Premier League teams involved in European competitions join the competition in the third round.

[EFLFormat-1] "Carabao Cup format confirmed for 2025/26 season". English Football League. 12 June 2025.

[BBC_Prelim-2] Holloway, Kate (12 June 2025). "Carabao Cup brings in preliminary round for 2025-26". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[PrelimRound1-3] "Carabao Cup Round One confirmed". English Football League. 26 June 2025.

[8] Wareing, Dan (12 August 2025). "Hundreds left without power as cup tie postponed". BBC News. Retrieved 15 August 2025.

[9] "Carabao Cup Round Two Confirmed". English Football League. 13 August 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[a]

[4]

[5]

[a]