EFL confirm Carabao Cup round one draw details and Wembley final date

The draw for the first round of the 2026/27 Carabao Cup will take place live on Sky Sports News at 4.30pm on Thursday June 25.

It forms part of the EFL’s fixture release day, with former Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United midfielder Kevin Nolan and ex-Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest defender Luke Chambers assisting in the draw.

The draw will feature 70 clubs, including the two winners from the preliminary round and the remaining 68 EFL sides, and will be split into northern and southern sections.

Tranmere Rovers will host Rochdale on August 1 in the preliminary round, before Crawley Town travel to York City on August 3.

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Shock

Those ties are required due to the involvement of nine Premier League clubs in European competitions next season.

Round one will kick off the new season, with ties scheduled to take place across the weekend of August 7–9.

Manchester United suffered a shock second-round exit last season at the hands of Grimsby Town, one of the competition’s standout upsets.

The Mariners defeated Sheffield Wednesday, who had earlier dumped Premier League outfit Leeds United out of the competition, in the next round before bowing out in the last 16 following a 5-0 defeat to Brentford.

Wembley

Cardiff City went further than any other non-Premier League side, reaching the quarter-finals where they faced then Enzo Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea.

Manchester City ultimately went on to lift the trophy at Wembley after Nico O’Reilly’s double helped them down Arsenal in the final.

The EFL has also confirmed the key round dates for the competition, which concludes with the final at Wembley on Sunday March 21, 2027.

Key dates

• Round One: August 7–9, 2026
• Round Two: week commencing August 24, 2026
• Round Three: week commencing September 7 and 14, 2026
• Round Four: week commencing October 26, 2026
• Round Five: week commencing December 14, 2026
• Semi-final first leg: week commencing January 11, 2027
• Semi-final second leg: week commencing February 1, 2027
• Final: March 21, 2027

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