The second-round winners in the EFL Cup 2025/26 did not have long to wait to discover their opponents in the next round of the competition.
More Premier League clubs were involved in the draw, with teams involved in the Champions League and Europa League entering for the first time at this stage.
Reigning top-flight champions Liverpool have won the EFL Cup a record 10 times, followed by Manchester City with eight titles and Manchester United with six.
101GreatGoals.com has the full draw for the 2025/26 EFL Cup third round and details of the schedule.
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 preliminary and first round results 2025/26
EFL Cup preliminary round results
Tuesday, July 29
Barnet 2-2 (2-4p) Newport County
Tuesday, August 5
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Oldham Athletic
EFL Cup round one results
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
Tranmere Rovers 1-1 (4-5p) Burton Albion
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
EFL Cup: Are Premier League in the Carabao Cup third round?
The 11 Premier League clubs not involved in European competition joined the competition in the second round, giving EFL clubs their first shots at providing upsets this season.
The nine Premier League teams who are in Europe are now joining the EFL Cup third round.
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 started 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 preliminary round
Week commencing August 4, 2025
EFL Cup round one
August 11, 2025
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 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.
Newcastle beat Liverpool 2-1 in the 2024/25 final to win their first domestic trophy since 1955.
