The Carabao Cup, also known as the EFL Cup or the League Cup, is no longer just a chance to pick up some silverware. The benefits of winning the trophy, now in its 67th edition, stretch far beyond the immortality of writing their club into the history books.

The eventual winners are now also granted a coveted spot in the following season’s Europa Conference League, as well as a significant slice of prize money.

With the first round of fixtures confirmed, GIVEMESPORT provides all the key information on the competition, including fixture dates and where to watch them.

Carabao Cup Second Round Draw, Fixtures and Results

The draw for the second round of the 2026/27 Carabao Cup will take place on August 10, 2026.

Confirmed fixtures will appear here in due course.

Carabao Cup First Round Draw, Fixtures & Results

via Reuters

The Carabao Cup provides the first competitive matches of the English football season, preceding the opening fixtures of the Premier League and English Football League.

The first match of the opening round took place on August 6th 2026, as League Two’s Walsall upset Championship side Bristol City to advance to the second round. A further 35 ties will take place from August 7th-10th 2026. 92 teams will be dreaming of Wembley and the European campaign that follows, including holders Manchester City, who will be hoping to retain and equal Liverpool’s record of 10 Carabao Cup triumphs.

Here’s the complete overview of the first round fixture dates and where to watch them on television and streaming platforms:

Northern Section

Southern Section

Key Carabao Cup Dates

REUTERS/David Klein

Here are the key dates for every round of the Carabao Cup:

Carabao Cup Prize Money

REUTERS/Toby Melville

As well as qualification for European football, which in itself is a lucrative reward, the actual prize money for winning the Carabao Cup is £100,000 – that is what Manchester City received after defeating Arsenal in the 2026 final. But there are also bonuses to be won for advancing through each stage of the competition:

Carabao Cup TV Channel & Streams

Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

According to the English Football League’s website, every first round tie will be available to watch or stream via Sky Sports and Sky Sports + in the UK, with Middlesbrough’s clash against Wrexham also available on ITV1.

For fans in the US, there are a selection of first round fixtures available to watch via CBS Sports channels and platforms, including Paramount+ and the Golazo Network. Local listings will be able to provide more specific viewing details.

The Carabao Cup is back for 2026/27, and once the first-round ties have been settled, attention turns to the second-round draw — the point at which the bulk of the Premier League‘s non-European clubs enter the hat.

For fans wanting to know exactly when the balls are drawn, how to follow it live and who could come out of the pot, here is everything you need to know.

Carabao Cup Second Round Draw Date & Time

The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup takes place on Monday August 10, getting under way at approximately 7:20pm BST (2:20pm ET). It will be held during the build-up to the game between Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City.

As is now customary, the draw is held around a live first-round tie rather than as a standalone event, meaning the exact start time can drift slightly depending on how the football unfolds.

The second round itself remains regionalised, split into north and south sections to cut down on midweek travel for the lower-league clubs involved — meaning teams can only be drawn against opponents from their own half of the country at this stage.

It is the first real flashpoint of the domestic cup calendar, and with a smittering of top-flight sides entering the fray, the potential for an eye-catching ‘giant-killing‘ tie is exactly what gives the early rounds their appeal.

How to Watch the Carabao Cup Draw Live

United Kingdom

The second-round draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football, the competition’s UK rights holder, as part of its coverage of the first-round fixture taking place that evening.

For those who prefer to stream, the draw will be available through the Sky Go and NOW apps in the United Kingdom, both of which carry Sky Sports’ live output. Sky subscribers can follow it on either platform, while NOW offers a flexible pass for anyone without a full contract.

United States

Fans who wish to tune into the draw in the USA should tune in to Paramount+, which has the rights to the game in question. Draws are sometimes streamed live on the official EFL YouTube channel too.

Coverage typically begins in and around the featured match, which means tuning in to the build-up is the safest way to avoid missing the moment the balls are drawn. Live updates are also widely available online for fans who cannot watch in real time, with the full list of ties confirmed shortly after the draw concludes.

Teams in the Carabao Cup Second Round Draw

REUTERS/Toby Melville

The second round is where the competition steps up a level, as 11 Premier League clubs joining the first-round winners in the draw. For this season, the top-flight sides not involved in European competition enter at the second-round stage. Among the key teams to watch out for will be Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle United, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.

They join the 35 winners from the first round, creating the blend of established Premier League names and lower-league hopefuls that makes the draw such compelling viewing early into the new season.

The remaining nine Premier League clubs — those competing in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League this term — are handed a bye to the third round, entering the competition a stage later to ease their congested early-season schedules.

That group includes some of the division’s heaviest hitters, among them defending champions Manchester City, who lifted the trophy last season. With the ties regionalised into north and south, each club is assigned a ball number ahead of the draw, and only once every second-round fixture is confirmed does the road to Wembley truly begin to take shape.

Premier League Teams

• Brentford
• Chelsea
• Fulham
• Newcastle
• Everton
• Leeds
• Nottingham Forest
• Tottenham

Winners from Round One Games

• Middlesbrough vs Wrexham
• Rotherham vs West Brom
• Barnsley vs Wigan
• Mansfield vs Sheffield United
• Stockport vs Doncaster Rovers
• Sheffield Wednesday vs Bolton
• Fleetwood vs Chesterfield
• Crewe vs Accrington
• Stoke vs Oldham
• Wolves vs Port Vale
• Burnley vs Notts County
• Derby vs Lincoln
• Bradford vs Rochdale
• Burton vs Blackburn
• Salford vs Shrewsbury
• Grimsby vs Blackpool
• Preston vs Huddersfield
• QPR vs Millwall
• Cheltenham vs Charlton
• Gillingham vs Luton Town
• Cardiff vs Swindon
• Walsall
• Plymouth vs Exeter City
• Bristol Rovers vs Peterborough
• Watford vs Crawley
• Cambridge vs Barnet
• Norwich vs MK Dons
• Colchester vs Southampton
• Leyton Orient vs Oxford
• Wycombe vs Stevenage
• Bromley vs Reading
• Swansea City vs Birmingham
• West Ham vs Portsmouth
• AFC Wimbledon vs Newport
• Leicester vs Northampton

Son of Scott Steiner and cousin of WWE Superstar Bron Breakker may have just seen his brief NFL career come to an end.

Brock Rechsteiner is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Rechsteiner, who is more famously known as ‘Big Poppa Pump’ Scott Steiner.

Steiner is not the only famous wrestler in the family, with Rechsteiner also being cousins with current WWE Raw Superstar Bron Breakker.

Brock played wide receiver for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks until 2025 and went unselected in the NFL draft, but the Tennessee Titans picked him up as an undrafted free agent. However, he was later invited to the New Orleans Saints’ rookie minicamp, where he signed as an undrafted rookie in May.

Brock Rechsteiner Hit With Shock NFL Suspension

Unfortunately, his chances of making the team’s 53-man roster for the upcoming season took a blow after he received the news that he would be suspended for the first six games of the campaign.

News of his suspension was announced by the league on the personnel notice for Thursday but no reason was given for the suspension.

According to ESPN Senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, Rechsteiner is eligible to participate in all preseason activities, including games, and his suspension will take effect when rosters are reduced to 53 players. Until now, the 23-year-old has been competing for a spot on the Saints’ roster.

If Brock wasn’t already facing a tough battle to make the cut, news of his suspension may well have brought an end to his NFL dream. If that does end up being the case, though, Rechsteiner has a back-up plan.

Banned NFL Hopeful Plans to Join WWE

The 23-year-old has already expressed interest in following in his family’s footsteps and pursuing a career in the WWE later down the line. He and his brother Brandon even signed a WWE Next In Line (NIL) deal in February 2025.

“I want to pursue football as long as I can, play as long as I can, but once I’m done, I’ll get into wrestling, too,” Rechsteiner said of his future plans via WDSU-TV’s Sharief Ishaq.

Pro Football Talk has reported that news of his suspension ‘could mean the end of his NFL journey’ and his wrestling career may now become a reality a lot sooner than he had planned.

If he were to join WWE, Rechsteiner would be following in the footsteps of some very successful family members. His father is a WWE Hall of Famer, performing alongside Brock’s uncle, Rick, as the Steiner Brothers.

His cousin Bron is also enjoying a strong WWE career. He currently reigns as one half of the World Tag Team Champions alongside his Vision stablemate Austin Theory.