Full fixtures, results, schedule, channels

The EFL Cup 2025/26 features seven potential rounds of matches in the main competition for teams in the Championship, League One and League Two and a maximum of six for Premier League clubs.

Newcastle won the EFL Cup for the first time in 2024/25, beating Premier League champions Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.

The Reds are the most successful team in EFL Cup history with 10 titles, followed by Manchester City with eight and Manchester United with six.

101GreatGoals.com has all the latest fixtures and results from the 2025/26 EFL Cup, round dates and how to watch on TV and live stream.

EFL Cup third round draw 2025/26

Port Vale vs Arsenal

Swansea City vs Nottingham Forest

Lincoln City vs Chelsea

Tottenham vs Doncaster Rovers

Brentford vs Aston Villa

Huddersfield Town vs Manchester City

Liverpool vs Southampton

Newcastle vs Bradford City

Sheffield Wednesday vs Grimsby Town

Wolves vs Everton

Crystal Palace vs Millwall

Burnley vs Cardiff City

Wrexham vs Reading

Wigan Athletic vs Wycombe Wanderers

Barnsley vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Fulham vs Cambridge United

When is the EFL Cup third round 2025/26?

The fixtures will take place across the weeks of September 15 and 22.

EFL Cup second round fixtures, results 2025/26

Wednesday, August 27

Everton 2-0 Mansfield Town

Grimsby Town 2-2 (12-11p) Manchester United

Fulham 2-0 Bristol City

Oxford United 0-6 Brighton

Tuesday, August 26

Burton Albion 0-1 Lincoln City

Accrington Stanley 0-2 Doncaster Rovers

Wigan Athletic 1-0 Stockport County

Stoke City 0-3 Bradford City

Burnley 2-1 Derby County

Sunderland 1-1 (5-6p) Huddersfield Town

Birmingham City 0-1 Port Vale

Preston North End 2-3 Wrexham

Barnsley 2-1 Rotherham United

Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 (3-0p) Leeds United

Reading 2-1 Wimbledon

Cambridge United 3-1 Charlton Athletic

Wolves 3-2 West Ham

Norwich City 0-3 Southampton

Bournemouth 0-2 Brentford

Millwall 2-1 Coventry City

Swansea City 1-1 (5-3p) Plymouth Argyle

Bromley 1-1 (4-5p) Wycombe Wanderers

Cardiff City 3-0 Cheltenham Town

EFL Cup round one fixtures, results 2025/26

Tuesday, August 12

Barrow 0-1 Preston North End

Grimsby Town 3-1 Shrewsbury Town

Blackpool 0-1 Port Vale

Salford City 0-0 (2-3p) Rotherham

Harrogate Town 1-3 Lincoln City

Stockport County 3-1 Crewe Alexandra

Wrexham 3-3 (5-3p) Hull City

Stoke City 0-0 (4-3p) Walsall

Accrington 2-1 Peterborough United

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Bradford City

Middlesbrough 0-4 Doncaster Rovers

West Brom 1-1 (2-3p) Derby County

Chesterfield 0-2 Mansfield Town

Wigan Athletic 1-0 Notts County

Coventry City 1-0 Luton Town

Bristol City 2-0 MK Dons

Bromley 1-1 (5-4p) Ipswich Town

Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

Leyton Orient 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Watford 1-2 Norwich City

Charlton Athletic 3-1 Stevenage

Oxford United 1-0 Colchester United

Newport County 0-1 Millwall

Cardiff City 2-1 Swindon Town

Gillingham 1-1 (2-4p) AFC Wimbledon

Northampton Town 0-1 Southampton

Plymouth Argyle 3-2 QPR

Swansea City 3-1 Crawley Town

Portsmouth 1-2 Reading

Wednesday, August 13

Barnsley 2-2 (5-4p) Fleetwood Town

Bolton Wanderers 3-3 (2-4p) Sheffield Wednesday

Cheltenham Town 2-0 Exeter

Huddersfield Town 2-2 (3-2p) Leicester City

Birmingham City 2-1 Sheffield United

Tuesday, August 19

Tranmere Rovers 1-1 (4-5p) Burton Albion

EFL Cup preliminary round fixtures, results

Tuesday, July 29

Barnet 2-2 (2-4p) Newport County

Tuesday, August 5

Accrington Stanley 3-1 Oldham Athletic

EFL Cup dates 2025/26: When are the Carabao Cup round dates?

Round one started during the second week of the EFL season. A new preliminary round also took place in late July between the two clubs promoted from the National League last season and the teams who finished 21st and 22nd in League Two.

There will be split weeks in round three for clubs in the Champions League and Europa League.

EFL Cup round two

August 25, 2025

EFL Cup round three

September 15 and 22, 2025

EFL Cup round four

October 27, 2025

EFL Cup round five

December 15, 2025

EFL Cup semi-final first leg

January 12, 2026

EFL Cup semi-final second leg

February 2, 2026

EFL Cup final

Sunday, March 22, 2026

EFL Cup: When do Premier League teams join the Carabao Cup?

The nine Premier League teams involved in European competition will join the EFL Cup third round in September.

The 11 other clubs will join a round earlier, during the week of August 25.

EFL Cup TV channel: How to watch the Carabao Cup

All EFL Cup matches will be available to watch on Sky Sports or Sky Sports+ as part of a deal between the league and the broadcaster to show more than 1,000 of the 1,891 games across the EFL, EFL Cup and Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

EFL Cup live stream: Watch the Carabao Cup online

Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.

Fans can watch online and on the move with the SkyGO app, which is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and mobile devices.

Do the EFL Cup winners qualify for Europe?

The EFL Cup winners receive a place in the play-off stage of the UEFA Conference League unless they qualify through another route for European competition.

Newcastle were an example of the rule in action in 2024/25, instead qualifying for the Champions League through their league position.

That meant their Conference League play-off place went to the next-highest ranked team who had not qualified for European competition via their league position.

Do EFL Cup ties go to extra time, replays and penalties?

Should they finish level after 90 minutes, EFL Cup ties go straight to penalties until the semi-finals, which take place over two legs.

If the scoreline is level after the second leg, extra time and – if necessary – penalties are used to separate teams.

The final is a one-off match at Wembley Stadium, with extra time and penalties used if required.

Liverpool beat Chelsea 11-10 on penalties in the 2021/22 final and edged the same fixture after extra time in 2023/24 through Virgil van Dijk’s 118th-minute winner.