Carabao Cup 2026-27: Event Details and Streaming Options

Fans are waiting to see the Carabao Cup 2026-27 season with plenty of excitement in the football world. The Carabao Cup is also known as the EFL Cup and the English Football League Cup. Furthermore, the 2026-27 EFL Cup will mark the competition’s 67th season. Several notable clubs are set to participate in the upcoming EFL Cup. The Carabao Cup is open to all clubs competing in the Premier League and the English Football League.

Additionally, the EFL Cup will be conducted in England and Wales. The Carabao Cup features professional clubs from the English football leagues. The highly anticipated Carabao Cup new season will begin with the preliminary round and conclude with the final. In the EFL Cup, the winner of the competition will qualify for the play-off round of the 2027-28 UEFA Conference League.

Why Is the Preliminary Round Necessary?

Last season’s Carabao Cup did not require a preliminary-round draw because of the clearer north-south split of the four clubs. This season’s preliminary round features the four teams being randomly drawn. This round consists of the two clubs promoted to League Two for the 2026-27 season: York City and Rochdale.

The two lowest finishers not relegated from the 2025-26 League Two are Tranmere Rovers and Crawley Town. The winner of York City vs. Crawley Town will qualify for the Southern section of the Round One draw. Similarly, the winner of Tranmere Rovers vs Rochdale will proceed into the Northern section.

Key Dates and Event Schedule

• Preliminary Round: August 1 and 3, 2026
• Rounds: August-December, 2026
• Semi-Final: January-February, 2027
• Final: March 21, 2027

Inside the Carabao Cup 2026–27 Format

The 2026-27 Carabao Cup format will feature four teams participating in the preliminary round. Additionally, Round One will feature a total of 70 teams divided into two regional sections. It is divided into the 68 remaining EFL clubs and the two preliminary round winners. A total of 46 teams participate in Round Two of the 2026-27 EFL Cup. Round Two follows a format featuring 35 winners from Round One and 11 Premier League clubs not involved in European competitions.

Furthermore, a total of 32 teams participate in Round Three of the 2026-27 Carabao Cup. It features 23 advancing winners from Round Two combined with nine Premier League clubs entering the competition due to European qualification. In addition, the EFL Cup will continue through the later rounds, quarter-finals, and semi-finals before concluding with the final.

How can I watch the Carabao Cup 2026-27?

The Carabao Cup 2026-27 will be broadcast on Sky Sports and ITV Sport in the United Kingdom. In addition, Now TV offers contract-free streaming of all Sky Sports coverage with a sports membership.

The radio channel of the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will air on talkSPORT and the BBC with audio commentaries.

Fans can see the EFL Cup will be streamed on Paramount+ and CBS Sports in the USA. Some other options, such as CBS Sports Network and Golazo Network, will broadcast select televised matches.

In South Africa, the Carabao Cup 2026-27 will be available on SuperSport channels. This platform will include SuperSport Premier League and SuperSport Grandstand.

The football competition will be aired on beIN Sports in France. In Germany, the Carabao Cup 2026-27 will be available on WOW.

In Spain, fans can watch the Carabao Cup on DAZN. This platform will require subscription plans for EFL Cup games.

Fans can watch the 2026-27 Carabao Cup on FanCode. The FanCode app will stream live fixtures and catch highlights.

Carabao Cup 2026–27 Participating Teams by Division

Division	Number of Teams	Participation
Premier League	20	All Premier League clubs
Championship	24	All Championship clubs
League One	24	All League One clubs
League Two	24	22 clubs (two enter via the Preliminary Round)
Total	92	Participating clubs

Premier League (20)	Championship (24)	League One (24)	League Two (22)
Arsenal	Birmingham City	Barnsley	Accrington Stanley
Aston Villa	Blackburn Rovers	Blackpool	Barrow
Bournemouth	Bristol City	Bolton Wanderers	Bromley
Brentford	Charlton Athletic	Burton Albion	Carlisle United
Brighton & Hove Albion	Coventry City	Cardiff City	Cheltenham Town
Burnley	Derby County	Doncaster Rovers	Colchester United
Chelsea	Hull City	Exeter City	Crewe Alexandra
Crystal Palace	Ipswich Town	Huddersfield Town	Fleetwood Town
Everton	Leicester City	Leyton Orient	Gillingham
Fulham	Middlesbrough	Lincoln City	Grimsby Town
Leeds United	Millwall	Mansfield Town	Harrogate Town
Liverpool	Norwich City	Northampton Town	Milton Keynes Dons
Manchester City	Oxford United	Peterborough United	Newport County
Manchester United	Portsmouth	Plymouth Argyle	Notts County
Newcastle United	Preston North End	Reading	Rochdale
Nottingham Forest	Queens Park Rangers	Rotherham United	Salford City
Sunderland	Sheffield Wednesday	Stevenage	Swindon Town
Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton	Stockport County	Tranmere Rovers
West Ham United	Stoke City	Wigan Athletic	Walsall
Wolverhampton Wanderers	Swansea City	Wycombe Wanderers	York City
–	Watford	AFC Wimbledon	Chesterfield
–	West Bromwich Albion	Port Vale	Crawley Town
–	Wrexham	Blackpool	Morecambe
–	–	Bristol Rovers	Shrewsbury Town

Note: Four teams compete in the preliminary round. The two winners reach Round One.

First Round for the Carabao Cup 2026-27

Division	Number of Teams	Participation
Premier League	20/20	All Premier League clubs
Championship	24/24	All Championship clubs
League One	24/24	All League One clubs
League Two	22/24	22 clubs (two enter via the Preliminary Round)
Total	90/92	Participating clubs

Northern section

Date	Match	Venue
7 August 2026	Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. vs Port Vale F.C.	Wolverhampton
7 August 2026	Middlesbrough F.C. vs Wrexham A.F.C.	Middlesbrough
8 August 2026	Barnsley F.C. vs Wigan Athletic F.C.	Barnsley
8 August 2026	Bradford City A.F.C. vs Tranmere Rovers F.C. or Rochdale A.F.C.	Bradford
8 August 2026	Burnley F.C. vs Notts County F.C.	Burnley
8 August 2026	Burton Albion F.C. vs Blackburn Rovers F.C.	Burton upon Trent
8 August 2026	Crewe Alexandra F.C. vs Accrington Stanley F.C.	Crewe
8 August 2026	Derby County F.C. vs Lincoln City F.C.	Derby
8 August 2026	Fleetwood Town F.C. vs Chesterfield F.C.	Fleetwood
8 August 2026	Grimsby Town F.C. vs Blackpool F.C.	Cleethorpes
8 August 2026	Preston North End F.C. vs Huddersfield Town A.F.C.	Liverpool
8 August 2026	Salford City F.C. vs Shrewsbury Town F.C.	Salford
8 August 2026	Sheffield Wednesday F.C. vs Bolton Wanderers F.C.	Sheffield
8 August 2026	Stockport County F.C. vs Doncaster Rovers F.C.	Stockport
8 August 2026	Stoke City F.C. vs Oldham Athletic A.F.C.	Stoke-on-Trent
8 August 2026	Rotherham United F.C. vs West Bromwich Albion F.C.	Rotherham
9 August 2026	Mansfield Town F.C. vs Sheffield United F.C.	Mansfield

Southern section

Date	Match	Venue
6 August 2026	Bristol City F.C. vs Walsall F.C.	Bristol
7 August 2026	Wycombe Wanderers F.C. vs Stevenage F.C.	High Wycombe
8 August 2026	Cambridge United F.C. vs Barnet F.C.	Cambridge
8 August 2026	Queens Park Rangers F.C. vs Millwall F.C.	Shepherd’s Bush
8 August 2026	AFC Wimbledon vs Newport County A.F.C.	Wimbledon, London
8 August 2026	Bristol Rovers F.C. vs Peterborough United F.C.	Bristol
8 August 2026	Bromley F.C. vs Reading F.C.	Bromley
8 August 2026	Cardiff City F.C. vs Swindon Town F.C.	Cardiff
8 August 2026	Gillingham F.C. vs Luton Town F.C.	Gillingham, Kent
8 August 2026	Leicester City F.C. vs Northampton Town F.C.	Leicester
8 August 2026	Leyton Orient F.C. vs Oxford United F.C.	Leyton
8 August 2026	Norwich City F.C. vs Milton Keynes Dons F.C.	Norwich
8 August 2026	Swansea City A.F.C. vs Birmingham City F.C.	Swansea
8 August 2026	Watford F.C. vs York City F.C. or Crawley Town F.C.	Watford
8 August 2026	West Ham United F.C. vs Portsmouth F.C.	Stratford, London
8 August 2026	Cheltenham Town F.C. vs Charlton Athletic F.C.	Cheltenham
8 August 2026	Colchester United F.C. vs Southampton F.C.	Colchester
10 August 2026	Plymouth Argyle F.C. vs Exeter City F.C.	Plymouth

Carabao Cup 2026-27: Schedules

• Round One: Weekend of August 7-9, 2026
• Round Two: Week beginning August 24, 2026
• Round Three: Week beginning September 7 and 14, 2026
• Round Four: Week beginning October 26, 2026
• Round Five (Quarter-finals): Week beginning December 14, 2026
• Semi-Final First Leg: Week beginning January 11, 2027
• Semi-Final Second Leg: Week beginning February 1, 2027
• Final: March 21, 2027

What are the key dates of the Premier League to League Two?

Premier League

• Friday, 21 August, 2026 – First match of the season
• Sunday, 30 May, 2027 – Final day of the season

Championship

• Friday, 14 August, 2026 – First match of the season
• Saturday, 1 May, 2027 – Final match of the season
• Saturday, 29 May, 2027 – Play-off final

League One

• Saturday, 14-16 August, 2026 – First match of the season
• Saturday, 8 May, 2027 – Final match of the season
• Sunday, 30 May, 2027 – Play-off final

League Two

• Saturday, 14-16 August, 2026 – First match of the season
• Saturday, 8 May, 2027 – Final match of the season
• Monday, 31 May, 2027 – Play-off final

Projected Prize Money Breakdown

The estimated prize pool distributed across the 92 participating clubs is likely to be £966,000.   

Stage	Prize Money (per win)	Notes
First Round Winners	£5,000	70 clubs from Championship, League One, and League Two.
Second Round Winners	£7,000	Winners from Round One + 13 Premier League clubs not in European competition.
Third Round	£10,000	Premier League clubs enter here
Fourth Round	£15,000	Progression bonus
Quarter-Final	£25,000	Additional earnings
Semi-Final	£25,000	Paid to both winners and losers
Runner-Up	£50,000	Wembley finalist
Winner	£100,000	Trophy + European qualification

Upcoming Preliminary Round for Carabao Cup 2026-27

Tranmere vs Rochdale

Date: August 1, 2026 (Saturday)

Time: 10:00 a.m. ET | 07:00 a.m. PT | 07:30 p.m. IST

Venue: Prenton Park, Birkenhead.

York City v. Crawley Town

Date: August 3, 2026 (Monday)

Time: 02:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. PT | 12:00 a.m. IST (Next Day)

Venue: LNER Community Stadium, Huntington.

Preliminary Round Matches

Tranmere vs Rochdale

Date: August 1, 2026 (Saturday)

Time: 10:00 a.m. ET | 07:00 a.m. PT | 07:30 p.m. IST

Venue: Prenton Park, Birkenhead.

Predicted Lineups for Tranmere

Goalkeepers	Harrison Male and Luke McGee
Defenders	Oliver Scott, Jacob Slater, Bobby Faulkner, Joel Senior, Patrick Brough, Jordan Turnbull, Nathan Smith, and Lee O’Connor
Midfielders	Jordan Davies, Tom Conlon, Jack McEvilly, Tom Ince, Charlie Veevers, Charlie Whitaker, Sam Finley, Josh Williams, Lewis Warrington, James Plant, and Ryan Watson
Forwards	Zane Okoro, Connor Jennings, and Joe Ironside

Predicted Lineups for Rochdale

Goalkeepers	Sam Waller, Jake Spaven, Nils Ramming, and Josh Lillis
Defenders	Kaiden Wilson, Laurence Maguire, Bryant Bilongo, Sam Sherring, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, and Daniel Moss
Midfielders	Cian Hayes, Luke Hannant, Will Jenkins, Ryan East, Harvey Gilmour, Casey Pettit, Corey Edwards, Sam Beckwith, and Ed Francis
Forwards	Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Devante Rodney, Matt Done, and Ian Henderson

Previous Games

Tranmere faced Blackpool in their most recent game. Tranmere dominated in the match. Meanwhile, Blackpool was unable to score a goal throughout the game. Ultimately, Tranmere defeated Blackpool in the club friendly. Now, the team will play Rochdale and have a home advantage in the upcoming match.

In contrast, Rochdale played against FC Halifax Town in their latest match. FC Halifax Town dominated the game. After half-time, Rochdale scored their goals in the match. In the end, Rochdale suffered a defeat to FC Halifax Town.

The Pick: Tranmere

York City v. Crawley Town

Date: August 3, 2026 (Monday)

Time: 02:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. PT | 12:00 a.m. IST (Next Day)

Venue: LNER Community Stadium, Huntington.

Predicted Lineups for York City

Goalkeepers	Alfie McNally and George Sykes-Kenworthy
Defenders	Zech Medley, Zak Johnson, Jack Hunt, Charlie McArthur, Ryan Fallowfield, Mark Kitching, Ashley Palmer, Ben Brookes, Jeff King, Joe Felix, and Morgan Williams
Midfielders	Marvin Armstrong, Mark Shelton Craig Hewitt, Frankie Maguire, Arthur Read, Greg Olley, Alex Hunt, Hiram Boateng, Ollie Banks, and Alex Newby
Forwards	Dipo Akinyemi, Josh Stones, Ollie Pearce, Joe Grey, Eddie Kettlewell, Ethan Stiver, and Ben Farrar

Predicted Lineups for Crawley Town

Goalkeepers	Vito Mannone, Jackson Izquierdo, and Jojo Wollacott
Defenders	Ty Ewens-Findlay, Pele Arganese-McDermott, Priestley Farquharson, Omari Mrisho, Scott Malone, Charlie Barker, Lewis Richards, Ben Radcliffe, Johnny Russell, Jay Williams, Josh Flint, and Akin Odimayo
Midfielders	Stephen Duke-McKenna, Klaudio Krasniqi, Jude Arthurs, Dion Pereira, Justin Ferizaj, Fate Kotey, Louie Watson, Louie Copley, Taylor Richards, Kellan Gordon, and Jude Robertson
Forwards	Gianmarco Di Biase, Oluwalopemiwa Aderoju, Malcolm Ebiowei, Harry Forster, Danny Cashman, Ade Adeyemo, and Danilo Orsi

Previous Games

York City has delivered consistent performances throughout the season. Additionally, the team performed well and was in strong form during the 2024-25 National League season. In their last five National League matches, York City recorded four consecutive victories and one draw. Moreover, York City has home advantage and will aim to claim a victory in the upcoming match.

Conversely, Crawley Town struggled to produce consistent performances last season. Furthermore, the team gained limited experience in League Two during the previous season. Now, Crawley Town will compete in the preliminary round of this season’s EFL Cup.

The Pick: York City

Stopping Point

The preliminary round will feature four clubs competing to reach Round One of the EFL Cup. Additionally, the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will feature several clubs proving their resilience and determination. At the end of the season, who will lift the EFL Cup trophy?