The Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place on Wednesday night, with Premier League sides competing in Europe set to enter the competition amid a significant structural twist.
Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, and holders Manchester City head up the nine clubs joining the 23 winners from this week’s second-round action.
However, fixture congestion driven by UEFA’s expanded calendar has forced the EFL into unprecedented scheduling changes. The eight sides competing in the Champions League and Europa League cannot be drawn against each other in round three.
How the Pre-Draw Mechanics Work
To ensure European midweek dates do not clash, the EFL will conduct a bowl-based pre-draw prior to the main event. This step determines whether each of the eight Champions League and Europa League sides plays at home or away.
Those eight clubs will subsequently feature in the first eight ties drawn out, paired exclusively against unseeded opposition from a separate main bowl.
Intriguingly, Brighton & Hove Albion remain in the main unseeded draw despite qualifying for the Conference League. Because UEFA’s third-tier competition does not begin until October, the Seagulls’ schedule avoids the September bottleneck altogether.
Regionalisation also ends here: the traditional split between Northern and Southern sections is scrapped from the third round onwards.
Broadcast Details and Key Timings
The pre-draw takes place during the pre-match build-up to Everton’s trip to Preston North End on Wednesday, August 26.
The main draw follows the conclusion of the evening’s televised second-round tie, expected at approximately 10:30pm BST.
- TV Coverage: Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
- Live Stream: Available free via the official EFL YouTube channel.
Split Midweek Match Dates Confirmed
To fit around the European calendar, third-round fixtures will be staggered across two separate midweeks rather than crammed into one:
- Week One: Week commencing September 7, 2026
- Week Two: Week commencing September 14, 2026
