Carabao Cup
FIFA Region
UEFA
Season
2025-2026
Location
England
Abbreviation
ENGCUP2
Summary
The 2025-2026 EFL Cup (ENGCUP2) or Carabao Cup is the 2nd most prestigious football club tournament in England. All 92 teams from ENG1, ENG2, ENG3 and ENG4 will participate. The Final will be held on 22 March 2026 at Wembley Stadium. The ENGCUP2 winner wins a berth in the Playoff Round of the 2025-2026 UEFA Europa League. Newcastle United (ENG1) is the defending champion.
All rounds/matches before the Semifinals are "Knockout" matches. If a match is tied after regulation time, the matches go straight to a penalty shoot-out. For the Semifinals, the teams play Home/Away highest aggregate goals advances matches. If the aggregate score is tied after the 2nd leg, the teams go straight to a penalty shoot-out. For the Final, if the match is still tied after regulation time, two 15-minute extra time periods are played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is held.
More Info...
Leagues Pyramid - England
| Abbrev | League | # Teams |
|---|---|---|
| ENG1 | Barclay's Premier League | 20 |
| ENG2 | Championship | 24 |
| ENG3 | League One | 24 |
| ENG4 | League Two | 24 |
| ENG5 | Conference | 24 |
Competition Structure
| Stage | # Teams | New Teams Entering This Round | Teams From Previous Round | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | 4 | 4 ENG4 teams | None | 2 Knockout matches |
| 1st Round | 70 | 24 ENG2 teams, 24 ENG3 teams, 20 ENG4 teams | 2 winners from Preliminary Round | 35 Knockout matches |
| 2nd Round | 46 | 11 ENG1 teams "not" competing in the UEFACL, the UEFAEL, or the UEFAECL; 2 ENG2 teams | 35 winners from 1st Round | 23 Knockout matches |
| 3rd Round | 32 | 9 ENG1 teams competing in UEFACL, UEFAEL, and UEFAECL | 23 winners from 2nd Round | 16 Knockout matches |
| 4th Round | 16 | None | 16 winners from 3rd Round | 8 Knockout matches |
| Quarterfinals | 8 | None | 8 winners from 4th Round | 4 Knockout matches |
| Semifinals | 4 | None | 4 winners from 5th Round | 2 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances |
| Final | 2 | None | 2 winners from Semifinals | 1 Knockout match played at a neutral site |
3rd Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
Tue - 16 Sep 2025
 | 01 | Grimsby Town FC (ENG4) | Hillsborough Stadium |
 | 42 | Aston Villa (ENG1) | Brentford Community Stadium |
 | 42 | Millwall (ENG2) | Selhurst Park |
Wed - 17 Sep 2025
 | 32 | Nottingham Forest (ENG1) | Swansea.com Stadium |
Tue - 23 Sep 2025
 | Wycombe Wanderers (ENG3) | The Brick Community Stadium |
 | Cambridge United FC (ENG3) | Craven Cottage |
 | Everton (ENG1) | Molineux Stadium |
 | Reading (ENG3) | Stōk Cae Ras |
 | Cardiff (ENG3) | Turf Moor |
 | Brighton & Hove (ENG1) | Oakwell |
 | Chelsea (ENG1) | LNER Stadium |
 | Southampton (ENG2) | Anfield |
Wed - 24 Sep 2025
 | Doncaster Rovers (ENG4) | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
 | Manchester City (ENG1) | Accu Stadium |
 | Bradford City (ENG4) | St James' Park (Exeter) |
 | Arsenal (ENG1) | Vale Park |
2nd Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
Tue - 26 Aug 2025
| 21 | AFC Wimbledon (ENG4) | Select Car Leasing Stadium |
| 32 | West Ham United (ENG1) | Molineux Stadium |
| 31 | Charlton Athletic (ENG2) | Cledara Abbey Stadium |
 | 56 | Huddersfield Town (ENG3) | Stadium of Light |
| 53 | Plymouth Argyle (ENG3) | Swansea.com Stadium |
 | 23 | Wrexham FC (ENG2) | Deepdale |
 | 03 | Southampton (ENG2) | Carrow Road |
 | 02 | Brentford FC (ENG1) | Vitality Stadium |
| 21 | Rotherham United (ENG3) | Oakwell |
 | 01 | Port Vale FC (ENG4) | St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park |
| 10 | Stockport County FC (ENG3) | The Brick Community Stadium |
| 30 | Cheltenham Town FC (ENG4) | Cardiff City Stadium |
 | 45 | Wycombe Wanderers (ENG3) | Hayes Lane |
 | 02 | Doncaster Rovers (ENG4) | Wham Stadium |
| 21 | Derby County FC (ENG2) | Turf Moor |
 | 03 | Bradford City (ENG4) | bet365 Stadium |
 | 01 | Lincoln City FC (ENG3) | Pirelli Stadium |
| 11 | Leeds United (ENG1) | Hillsborough Stadium |
| 21 | Coventry City (ENG2) | The Den |
Wed - 27 Aug 2025
| 20 | Bristol City (ENG2) | Craven Cottage |
 | 06 | Brighton & Hove (ENG1) | Kassam Stadium |
| 1211 | Manchester United (ENG1) | Blundell Park |
| 20 | Mansfield Town (ENG3) | Hill Dickinson Stadium |
1st Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
Tue - 12 Aug 2025
| 31 | Crawley Town FC (ENG3) | Swansea.com Stadium |
 | 04 | Doncaster Rovers (ENG4) | Riverside Stadium (Middlesbrough) |
| 31 | Crewe Alexandra (ENG4) | Edgeley Park |
 | 01 | Preston North End (ENG2) | SO Legal Stadium |
 | 01 | Millwall (ENG2) | Rodney Parade |
| 53 | Hull City (ENG2) | Stōk Cae Ras |
 | 01 | Wycombe Wanderers (ENG3) | BetWright Stadium |
 | 01 | Southampton (ENG1) | Sixfields Stadium |
| 10 | Colchester United FC (ENG4) | Kassam Stadium |
| 32 | Queens Park Rangers (ENG2) | Home Park (Plymouth) |
 | 12 | Reading (ENG3) | Fratton Park |
 | 23 | Rotherham United (ENG3) | Peninsula Stadium |
| 43 | Walsall FC (ENG4) | bet365 Stadium |
 | 12 | Norwich City (ENG2) | Vicarage Road |
 | 23 | Derby County FC (ENG2) | The Hawthorns |
| 10 | Notts County FC (ENG4) | The Brick Community Stadium |
 | 12 | Bradford City (ENG4) | Ewood Park |
 | 01 | Port Vale FC (ENG4) | Bloomfield Road |
| 20 | Milton Keynes Dons (ENG4) | Ashton Gate Stadium |
 | 02 | Cambridge United FC (ENG3) | Memorial Stadium (Bristol) |
 | 13 | Lincoln City FC (ENG3) | Exercise Stadium |
| 21 | Swindon Town (ENG4) | Cardiff City Stadium |
| 31 | Stevenage FC (ENG3) | The Valley |
 | 02 | Mansfield Town (ENG3) | SMH Group Stadium |
| 10 | Luton Town FC (ENG2) | The Coventry Building Society Arena |
 | 24 | AFC Wimbledon (ENG4) | Priestfield Stadium |
| 31 | Shrewsbury Town FC (ENG3) | Blundell Park |
| 21 | Peterborough United (ENG3) | Wham Stadium |
| 54 | Ipswich Town (ENG1) | Hayes Lane |
Wed - 13 Aug 2025
| 32 | Leicester City (ENG1) | Accu Stadium |
| 54 | Fleetwood Town FC (ENG4) | Oakwell |
 | 24 | Sheffield Wednesday (ENG2) | Toughsheet Community Stadium |
| 20 | Exeter City FC (ENG3) | EV Charger Points Stadium |
| 21 | Sheffield United (ENG2) | St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park |
Tue - 19 Aug 2025
 | 45 | Burton Albion FC (ENG3) | Prenton Park |
Preliminary Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
Tue - 29 Jul 2025
 | 24 | Newport County AFC (ENG4) | The Hive |
Tue - 5 Aug 2025
| 31 | Oldham Athletic AFC (ENG5) | Wham Stadium |