Carabao Cup Draw: European Teams Set to Enter Third Round
The Carabao Cup stops feeling like a warm-up tonight. The third round beckons, and with it the arrival of England’s European contingent – and a draw sliced in two to make the calendar work.
Manchester City, the holders. Arsenal, beaten by City in last season’s final. Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace all enter the competition at this stage and will discover their third-round opponents once the second-round ties are wrapped up.
But before any balls are pulled for the main event, there’s a twist.
Pre-draw to protect European schedules
The nine Premier League clubs involved in Europe this season come with baggage: Champions League and Europa League dates that simply cannot move.
To avoid a fixture pile-up and clashes with Uefa competitions, the EFL has introduced a pre-draw. That early process separates the European clubs and decides whether they will play at home or away in round three, ensuring they cannot be paired with one another at this stage.
The governing body’s stance is clear: with Uefa fixtures locked in and the domestic calendar already tight, those eight clubs in the Champions League or Europa League must be kept apart to guarantee every tie can be played in one of the two allocated weeks.
A stretched third round in a new European era
The expanded Champions League and Europa League formats have forced the Carabao Cup to adapt.
Round three is now spread across two weeks, starting Monday 7 September and Monday 14 September. The first week of the Champions League falls in the week commencing 7 September, which means Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa – the five Champions League sides – will all play their Carabao Cup ties the following week.
Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace, who are in the Europa League, are pushed the other way. They will play in the first week of round three, with the Europa League group stage beginning in the week of 14 September.
Brighton’s involvement hinges on Conference League qualification, but they are part of the planning and the list of clubs entering at this stage.
How the third-round draw will actually work
The process is split into two distinct acts.
Pre-draw:
Before Preston North End face Everton in their second-round tie at Deepdale, a pre-draw decides whether the Champions League and Europa League clubs will be at home or away. That sets their position in the main draw and keeps them apart.
Main draw:
Once Preston vs Everton finishes, the main draw begins. The first eight ties will feature the European clubs in their pre-determined home or away slots. Each of them will be drawn against a club from a separate bowl containing the rest of the teams still in the competition, meaning none of the European sides can face one another in round three.
After those eight fixtures are set, the final eight ties are drawn with no restrictions. From this stage on, the old North/South divide disappears; the competition becomes fully open.
Who’s left in – and what number they are
These are the ball numbers for the third-round draw:
- AFC Bournemouth
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Crystal Palace
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Liverpool
- Sunderland
- Barnsley
- Brentford
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Coventry City
- Fleetwood Town
- Hull City
- Ipswich Town
- Leeds United
- Leyton Orient
- Lincoln City
- Middlesbrough
- Millwall
- Norwich City
- Peterborough United
- Reading
- Sheffield United
- West Ham United
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Bradford City / Burnley
- Newcastle United / West Bromwich Albion
- Tottenham Hotspur / Charlton Athletic
- Preston North End / Everton
- Chelsea / Luton Town
- Fulham / AFC Wimbledon
Lower-league stories are already bubbling away. Fleetwood Town, the only fourth-tier side left, smashed Shrewsbury Town 4–0. Brentford lit up their tie with a 6–1 demolition of Birmingham City. Leeds United marched back to Nottingham Forest and won again, 2–0, just days after their league success there.
Elsewhere, Hull City clung on and edged past Stoke City on penalties, while West Ham United cruised through with a 4–1 win at Southampton. Peterborough United stunned Watford 5–1, and Lincoln City hit four away at Blackpool.
Second round still shaping the hat
The draw will be completed before Chelsea face Luton Town and Fulham host AFC Wimbledon, both second-round ties that close out this stage of the competition.
Before that, there is a busy night of football:
Wednesday 28 August
- Bradford City v Burnley
- Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion
- Preston North End v Everton
- Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic
Thursday 27 August
- Chelsea v Luton Town
- Fulham v AFC Wimbledon
David Moyes takes his Everton side back to familiar territory at Preston, the club where his managerial career began. At St James’ Park, Matthias Jaissle chases his first competitive win as Newcastle boss against West Bromwich Albion. Tottenham Hotspur host Charlton Athletic in a tie that, not long ago, could easily have been a Championship fixture.
Chelsea and Fulham then complete the picture in west London, each at home in front of the TV cameras.
When and where to watch the draw
The third-round draw takes place tonight, Wednesday 26 August, after Preston vs Everton, which kicks off at 8pm BST. The draw is expected to start at around 10.15pm BST.
Coverage begins at 7pm BST, with the pre-draw likely to be conducted at around 7.30pm, before a ball is kicked at Deepdale.
The names are ready. The dates are fixed. Now the question is simple: who lands the first heavyweight clash of the domestic season – and who gets the kind of tie that can quietly change a club’s year?
