When is Carabao Cup first round draw? Ball numbers, start time and how to watch

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The Independent

·26 June 2025

When is Carabao Cup first round draw? Ball numbers, start time and how to watch

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.

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Teams in the English Football League will discover their first round opponents on Thursday, 26 June.

When is the Carabao Cup draw?

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

How to watch the Carabao Cup draw?

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.

How does the draw work?

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 with Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace (for the time being) in the Europa League and Nottingham Forest set for the Conference League.

That 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 before the first-round draw. The two winners will make it to the first round, which will be played in the week commencing 11 August.