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Carabao Cup Draw: European Heavyweights Join the Action

The Carabao Cup finally opens its doors to the Premier League’s European contingent tonight, with the third-round draw set to shape the early story of this season’s domestic cups.

Holders Manchester City step in. So do last season’s beaten finalists Arsenal. Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace all join them, waiting to discover who stands in their way first.

All of it unfolds around a split, slightly surreal schedule. The draw will be completed before Chelsea face Luton and Fulham host AFC Wimbledon to wrap up the second round, meaning some clubs will know their potential opponents before they even kick a ball.

Why the European clubs are being kept apart

Nine Premier League sides could be juggling Europe and the Carabao Cup this season: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton (if they clinch a Conference League spot) and Crystal Palace.

The expanded Champions League and Europa League formats have forced a reshuffle. Round three of the Carabao Cup now stretches across two weeks, starting Monday 7 September and Monday 14 September.

That creates a hard split. The five Champions League clubs – Arsenal, City, Liverpool, United and Villa – must play in the second week, with their first European fixtures falling in the week beginning 7 September. The three Europa League sides – Bournemouth, Sunderland and Palace – go in the first week, as their group stages start from 14 September.

The EFL has already nailed down the logic. Uefa dates are immovable, so the Carabao Cup has to bend. To keep the calendar intact, the eight clubs in the Champions League or Europa League cannot face each other in round three. Every tie involving them must be playable in one of the two allocated weeks.

That is why a pre-draw takes place: to decide whether those eight sides are at home or away before any ball numbers are paired together.

How tonight’s draw actually works

There are two draws, not one.

First comes the pre-draw, staged before Preston North End’s second-round tie against Everton at Deepdale. That short segment simply decides whether the Champions League and Europa League clubs are at home or away in round three.

Once Preston v Everton is done, the main event follows.

The first eight ties drawn will all involve those European clubs. Their home or away status will already be fixed from the pre-draw. Each of them will be paired with a club from a separate bowl containing the rest of the competition’s survivors, guaranteeing they cannot meet one another at this stage.

Only when those eight fixtures are out of the way does the draw open up. The final eight ties are pulled out as normal, with no protection, and from round three onwards the old North/South divide disappears entirely.

Where and when to watch it

The third-round draw is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday 26 August, after Preston v Everton, which kicks off at 8pm BST. The draw is expected to begin at around 10.15pm BST.

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football will show it live, with Sky Sports subscribers also able to watch via the Sky Go app.

Coverage starts at 7pm BST, and the pre-draw – which settles the home and away status of the European clubs – is likely to drop at around 7.30pm.

The ties still to come before the balls are drawn

Second-round business is not quite finished.

Four fixtures headline tonight’s schedule and another two follow tomorrow, all feeding into the list of potential third-round opponents.

David Moyes takes his Everton side back to familiar territory at Preston, where his managerial journey truly began. At St James’ Park, Matthias Jaissle chases his first competitive win as Newcastle United boss against West Bromwich Albion. In north London, Tottenham host Charlton Athletic – a fixture that came close to being a Championship meeting this season.

Two more games are held back for television tomorrow. Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football double in west London sees Chelsea at home to Luton Town and Fulham welcoming AFC Wimbledon.

  • 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

Those results will complete the 32-club line-up for round three.

Last night’s drama: away wins, shootouts and a six-goal statement

The second round has already delivered a few jolts.

Leeds United enjoyed another profitable trip to Nottingham Forest, winning at the City Ground for the second time in four days. Hull City clung on at Stoke City and then edged through on penalties. Fleetwood Town, the only fourth-tier side to make it through, hammered Shrewsbury Town – also from League Two – in a one-sided tie.

Brentford rediscovered their cutting edge, tearing through Birmingham City in a 6-1 rout that announced their arrival in the competition with force.

Northern Section

  • Doncaster Rovers 1–3 Middlesbrough
  • Barnsley 3–2 Crewe Alexandra
  • Blackburn Rovers 1–2 Sheffield United
  • Blackpool 1–4 Lincoln City
  • Fleetwood Town 4–0 Shrewsbury Town
  • Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
  • Stoke City 1–1 (4–5 p) Hull City
  • Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds United

Southern Section

  • Cardiff City 1–2 Norwich City
  • Cambridge United 0–1 Millwall
  • Ipswich Town 3–1 Leicester City
  • Plymouth Argyle 2–4 Coventry City
  • Southampton 1–4 West Ham United
  • Stevenage 0–3 Reading
  • Walsall 0–0 (5–6 p) Leyton Orient
  • Watford 1–5 Peterborough United
  • Birmingham City 1–6 Brentford

The field has thinned. The jeopardy has not.

Ball numbers for the third round

Once tonight and tomorrow’s ties are done, these are the numbers that will matter:

  • 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

From European giants to lower-league strivers, the mix is classic Carabao Cup. One ball, one pairing, and a route to Wembley starts to take shape. Who lands the kind draw, and who gets thrown straight into the fire?

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