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The Independent UK

Sport

Luke Baker

Carabao Cup draw live: Championship and other EFL clubs learn first-round fate

EFL Carabao Cup League Two League One Barnet EPL the National League

The Carabao Cup is getting underway for the 2025/26 season - (Getty Images)

The Carabao Cup returns with the preliminary and first round draws, featuring all 72 EFL clubs, having taken place this afternoon.

Newcastle beat Liverpool in a thrilling final last season but those two clubs won’t enter the competition in 2025/26 until the third round, with the teams outside the Premier League taking the spotlight in the first round.

Every Championship and League One club, plus 20 teams from League Two, enter at the first-round stage but nine Premier League featuring in European competition this season – and thus not entering until round three – necessitates a preliminary round featuring four teams as Accrington host Oldham and Barnet take on Newport.

The winners of those ties make it through to the first round, which was also drawn and threw up a number of fascinating clashes. League Two Bromley will host Ipswich after their recent relegation from the Premier League, Tom Brady’s big-spending Birmingham take on another recently-relegated top-tier outfit in Sheffield United, Coventry play Luton in a repeat of the 2023 Championship play-off final and West Brom square off with Derby in an all-Championship tie.

Follow the Carabao Cup draw with our blog below plus watch every Fifa Club World Cup game free on DAZN: Sign up here now.

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Carabao Cup first round draw - live updates

The Carabao Cup first round draw has taken place
Every Championship and League One club, plus 20 teams from League Two enter at the first-round stage after two preliminary matches
League Two Bromley host recently-relegated Ipswich and Birmingham take on Sheffield United in an all-Championship clash as a couple of the standout ties
Full Carabao Cup first round draw - southern section
Full Carabao Cup first round draw - northern section

Full first round draw - northern section

16:50 , Luke Baker

And likewise for the northern section

Barrow v Preston
Grimsby v Shrewsbury
Blackpool v Port Vale
Salford City v Rotherham
Harrogate v Lincoln
Tranmere v Burton
Stockport v Crewe
Huddersfield v Leicester
Wrexham v Hull
Birmingham v Sheffield United
Stoke v Walsall
Accrington or Oldham v Peterborough
Blackburn v Bradford
Middlesbrough v Doncaster
West Brom v Derby
Bolton v Sheffield Wednesday
Chesterfield v Mansfield
Barnsley v Fleetwood
Wigan v Notts County

Full first round draw - southern section

16:49 , Luke Baker

Here’s the full draw for the southern section

Coventry v Luton
Bristol City v MK Dons
Bromley v Ipswich
Bristol Rovers v Cambridge
Leyton Orient v Wycombe
Watford v Norwich
Charlton v Stevenage
Oxford v Colchester
Barnet or Newport v Millwall
Cardiff v Swindon
Gillingham v AFC Wimbledon
Northampton v Southampton
Cheltenham v Exeter
Plymouth v QPR
Swansea v Crawley
Portsmouth v Reading

First round draw

16:48 , Luke Baker

Some interesting ties thrown up there and some erm... less glamorous clashes.

Bromley v Ipswich should be fun, while Coventry v Luton is a repeat of the Championship play-off final a couple of years ago.

In the northern section, Birmingham v Sheffield United is something of a heavyweight clash, as is West Brom v Derby.

First round draw - northern section

16:45 , Luke Baker

Only a few games left now - in fact these are the last three

Chesterfield v Mansfield

Barnsley v Fleetwood

Wigan v Notts County

First round draw - northern section

16:44 , Luke Baker

Blackburn v Bradford

Middlesbrough v Doncaster

West Brom v Derby

Bolton v Sheffield Wednesday

First round draw - northern section

16:43 , Luke Baker

Wrexham v Hull - the Hollywood club get a visit from the Tigers

Birmingham v Sheffield United - another all-Championship tie

Stoke v Walsall

Accrington or Oldham v Peterborough

First round draw - northern section

16:41 , Luke Baker

We’re into the meat of this northern section draw now

Harrogate v Lincoln

Tranmere v Burton

Stockport v Crewe

Huddersfield v Leicester

First round draw - northern section

16:40 , Luke Baker

A few lower-league teams coming out first up

Barrow v Preston

Grimsby v Shrewsbury

Blackpool v Port Vale

Salford City v Rotherham

First round draw - northern section

16:38 , Luke Baker

And now we’re on to the northern section. There’s 38 clubs in this half of the draw. Let’s get to it

First round draw - southern section

16:37 , Luke Baker

And just one tie left to finish us off

Portsmouth v Reading

First round draw - southern section

16:37 , Luke Baker

Still we draw.

Northampton v Southampton - a pleasing match-up, linguistically speaking

Cheltenham v Exeter

Plymouth v QPR

Swansea v Crawley

First round draw - southern section

16:35 , Luke Baker

Oxford v Colchester - Oxford won the League Cup back in 1985

Barnet or Newport v Millwall

Cardiff v Swindon

Gillingham v AFC Wimbledon

First round draw - southern section

16:34 , Luke Baker

On we go

Bristol Rovers v Cambridge

Leyton Orient v Wycombe - both teams were beaten by Charlton in last season’s League One play-offs

Watford v Norwich in an all-Championship clash

Charlton v Stevenage

First round draw - southern section

16:33 , Luke Baker

First game out is a repeat of the Championship play-off final of a couple of seasons ago. A big start!

Coventry v Luton

Then it’s

Bristol City v MK Dons

Bromley v Ipswich - a glamour tie for Bromley there

First round draw

16:29 , Luke Baker

We’re on to the first round draw itself now. Northern section first up, then the south

Preliminary round draw

16:27 , Luke Baker

Here we go. We’re about to find out who is at home in the preliminary round. The draw is:

Accrington v Oldham

Barnet v Newport

The winners of those game will be in the first round. Those matches will be in the week commencing 4 August.

Preliminary round draw

16:20 , Luke Baker

Right, we’re just about ready to get going with this Carabao Cup draw. Remember, we’ll start with the preliminary round.

That’s the initial round featuring just four teams, necessitated by nine Premier League clubs qualifying for Europe this year and thus not entering until the third-round stage.

It’s the two promoted National League teams (Oldham and Barnet) and those that finished 21st and 22nd in last season’s League Two (Newport and Accrington).

They’ve been divided into the north and south sections and we know that Oldham will play Accrington, while Barnet take on Newport but the draw will determine which teams are at home. The winners of those preliminary ties then enter the first round alongside the remaining 68 EFL clubs.

All make sense? Good.

What are the ball numbers

16:17 , Luke Baker

And here are the ball numbers for the southern section

1 AFC Wimbledon
2 Bristol City
3 Bristol Rovers
4 Bromley
5 Cambridge United
6 Cardiff City
7 Charlton Athletic
8 Cheltenham Town
9 Colchester United
10 Coventry City
11 Crawley Town
12 Exeter City
13 Gillingham
14 Ipswich Town
15 Leyton Orient
16 Luton Town
17 Millwall
18 Milton Keynes Dons
19 Northampton Town
20 Norwich City
21 Oxford United
22 Plymouth Argyle
23 Portsmouth
24 Queens Park Rangers
25 Reading
26 Southampton
27 Stevenage
28 Swansea City
29 Swindon Town
30 Watford
31 Wycombe Wanderers
32 Barnet or Newport County

What are the ball numbers?

16:12 , Luke Baker

The ball numbers for today’s first-round draw have been announced. Remember, the draw is split into a northern section and a southern section.

Here’s the ball numbers for the northern section:

1 Barnsley
2 Barrow
3 Birmingham City
4 Blackburn Rovers
5 Blackpool
6 Bolton Wanderers
7 Bradford City
8 Burton Albion
9 Chesterfield
10 Crewe Alexandra
11 Derby County
12 Doncaster Rovers
13 Fleetwood Town
14 Grimsby Town
15 Harrogate Town
16 Huddersfield Town
17 Hull City
18 Leicester City
19 Lincoln City
20 Mansfield Town
21 Middlesbrough
22 Notts County
23 Peterborough United
24 Port Vale
25 Preston North End
26 Rotherham United
27 Salford City
28 Sheffield United
29 Sheffield Wednesday
30 Shrewsbury Town
31 Stockport County
32 Stoke City
33 Tranmere Rovers
34 Walsall
35 West Bromwich Albion
36 Wigan Athletic
37 Wrexham
38 Accrington Stanley or Oldham Athletic

League Two opening day fixtures

16:07 , Luke Baker

The League Two fixtures for the opening weekend of the 2025-2026 season are as follows:

Saturday, August 2, 2025

15:00 - Accrington Stanley v Gillingham
15:00 - Barnet v Fleetwood Town
15:00 - Bristol Rovers v Harrogate Town
15:00 - Cambridge United v Cheltenham Town
15:00 - Chesterfield v Barrow
15:00 - Colchester United v Tranmere Rovers
15:00 - Grimsby Town v Crawley Town
15:00 - Milton Keynes Dons v Oldham Athletic
15:00 - Newport County v Notts County
15:00 - Salford City v Crewe Alexandra
15:00 - Shrewsbury Town v Bromley
15:00 - Walsall v Swindon Town

League One opening day fixtures

15:54 , Luke Baker

The League One fixtures for the opening weekend of the 2025-2026 season, starting a week before the Championship, have been released:

Friday, August 1, 2025

20:00 Luton Town v A.F.C. Wimbledon

Saturday, August 2, 2025

12:30 Cardiff City v Peterborough United
15:00 Blackpool v Stevenage
15:00 Bradford City v Wycombe Wanderers
15:00 Burton Albion v Mansfield Town
15:00 Doncaster Rovers v Exeter City
15:00 Huddersfield Town v Leyton Orient
15:00 Lincoln City v Reading
15:00 Plymouth Argyle v Barnsley
15:00 Rotherham United v Port Vale
15:00 Wigan Athletic v Northampton Town

Sunday, August 3, 2025

12:00 Stockport County v Bolton Wanderers

Championship opening day fixtures

15:42 , Luke Baker

Earlier today, the EFL fixtures were revealed as the Championship, League One and League Two clubs learnt their season-long schedules.

The Championship season kicks off on Friday 8 August at St Andrew’s, where Ipswich Tbegin their bid to bounce back up to the Premier League against Birmingham.

Leicester host Sheffield Wednesday at the King Power Stadium on Sunday to round off the opening weekend.

Friday, August 8, 2025

20:00 - Birmingham City v Ipswich Town

Saturday, August 9, 2025

12:30 - Charlton Athletic v Watford
12:30 - Coventry City v Hull City
12:30 - Southampton v Wrexham
15:00 - Middlesbrough v Swansea City
15:00 - Norwich City v Millwall
15:00 - Oxford United v Portsmouth
15:00 - Queens Park Rangers v Preston North End
15:00 - Stoke City v Derby County
15:00 - West Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers
17:30 - Sheffield United v Bristol City

Sunday, August 10, 2025

16:30 - Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday

Wrexham begin first second-tier campaign in 43 years with trip to Southampton

15:30 , Luke Baker

Wrexham will start their 2025-26 Championship campaign with a mouth-watering trip to Southampton on Saturday, August 9.

The Welsh club, co-owned by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney, are back in the second tier for the first time in 43 years after winning three consecutive promotions.

Wrexham met Eastleigh on the opening day of the Vanarama National League season in August 2022, but are now set to play grander Hampshire opposition three years on.

Wrexham begin first second-tier campaign in 43 years with trip to Southampton

Carabao Cup 2025/26 fixture dates

15:20 , Luke Baker

Preliminary round: Week commencing 4 August 2025

Round one: Week commencing 11 August 2025

Round two: Week commencing 25 August 2025

Round three: Weeks commencing 15 September and 22 September 2025 to help clubs in the Champions League and Europa League

Round four: Week commencing 27 October 2025

Round five: Week commencing 15 December 2025

Semi-final first leg: Week commencing 12 January 2026

Semi-final second leg: Week commencing 2 February 2026

Final: Sunday, March 22, 2026

How does the draw work?

15:15 , Luke Baker

Clubs will be split into north and south sections for the draw. There will be 70 of the 72 EFL clubs entering the first round after two preliminary matches.

The 11 Premier League sides not competing in European football this season will enter in the second round, with the sides in Uefa competitions entering the cup in the third round.

There are nine clubs in the Premier League set to play in Uefa competitions which reduces the number of clubs coming into the Carabao Cup at the second-round stage, necessitating a preliminary round, which will involve the two sides promoted from the National League and the clubs who finished 21st and 22nd in League Two.

Those fixtures in the week commencing 4 August see Accrington Stanley face Oldham Athletic, while Barnet play Newport County, with the home sides decided in the preliminary round draw. The two winners will make it to the first round, which will be played in the week commencing 11 August.

How to watch the Carabao Cup draw?

15:10 , Luke Baker

In the UK, the Carabao Cup draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports News. Subscribers can tune in online via the Sky Go app or on NOWTV.

If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

When is the Carabao Cup draw?

15:05 , Luke Baker

The draw takes place from 4:20pm BST with the preliminary round draw, the first-round proper draw will then follow.

Everything you need to know about the Carabao Cup draw

14:58 , Luke Baker

The Carabao Cup first round draw is already here, weeks out from the first round of fixtures for the 2025/26 season.

After Newcastle's thrilling win over Liverpool in last year's final at Wembley, it promises to be an exciting season with teams dreaming of silverware.

Here’s everything you need to know: