The Carabao Cup gathers pace tonight when the third round ties are decided to complete the Premier League’s involvement in the competition.
So far the nine Premier League teams in Europe have sat out as the second round edges towards completion, but holders Manchester City, Arsenal, who lost to City in last season’s final, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace will all learn their third-round opponents tonight.
There is a pre-draw though, with those aforementioned teams set to be separated in order to avoid a clash in Uefa competitions.
While the draw will be completed before Chelsea face Luton and Fulham face AFC Wimbledon to conclude the second round.
Follow all the build-up and live updates from tonight’s ties below:
Everton boss David Moyes on his return to Preston
David Moyes will be looking to embark on a cup run alongside maintaining Everton’s Premier League progress and the second round sees the Scot return to Preston, where he ended his playing career before going on to manage the club.
The 63-year-old Scot reflected on learning from Sir Tom Finney during his time at Deepdale, which saw him take Preston to the play-off final in 2001 before leaving to join Everton the following year.
“It was a brilliant experience for me and I would be recommending to all the young coaches that you are better to go earn your stripes and try and find a way through the leagues than being thrown in where it is difficult at the start,” he said.
“I was really fortunate that I had been a player there, assistant manager or coach as well and when I got the job I had a little bit of knowledge of the club that maybe the players needed and it was a great learning experience. A brilliant club to go to.”
Jamie Braidwood26 August 2026 19:15
Some of tonight’s Carabao Cup team news
Everton make just three changes from their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, and include the returning James Garner at Preston after his recovery from injury.
Tottenham have named new signing Savio on the bench against Charlton, with Matheus Fernandes making his home debut, Destiny Udogie starting and Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro back on the bench.
Newcastle offer a full competitive debut to midfielder Bazoumana Toure against West Brom and also start Nick Woltemade ahead of Yoane Wissa after the 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
Jamie Braidwood26 August 2026 19:07
When will the Carabao Cup third round be played?
The third round of the Carabao Cup is scheduled to take place across consecutive weeks, starting on 7 September and 14 September.
The ties will be played midweek as single-leg fixtures with the winners progressing to the fourth round.
Mike Jones26 August 2026 19:00
What happens to the teams playing in Europe?
There could be NINE Premier League teams playing in Europe this season, so therefore also entering the Carabao Cup in the third round stage: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton (if they qualify for the Conference League) and Crystal Palace.
The expanded Champions League and Europa League format means the Carabao Cup third round is now played across two weeks, commencing Monday 7 September and Monday 14 September.
As the first week of the Champions League takes place in the week commencing Monday 7 September, those five Champions League teams (Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd and Aston Villa) have to play the following week.
While the three teams involved in the Europa League (Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace) play in the first week, as the Europa League starts from the week commencing Monday 14 September.
The EFL states: “As Uefa competition fixtures cannot be rescheduled, and to enable the Carabao Cup to proceed within its agreed schedule without disrupting other League or domestic cup fixtures, the additional conditions will ensure that the eight clubs participating in the Champions League or Europa League cannot meet each other in Round Three of the Carabao Cup. This will mean that the teams drawn in each tie will be able to fulfil the fixture in one of the allocated weeks.”
Jamie Braidwood26 August 2026 18:48
How can I watch the Carabao Cup draw?
The Carabao Cup third-round draw will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football following the conclusion of Preston v Everton.
Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to watch the draw live online via the Sky Go app.
Mike Jones26 August 2026 18:40
Carabao Cup draw: What games are on tonight?
There are four more games tonight and another two tomorrow. David Moyes takes his Everton side back to where his managerial career started at Preston, Matthias Jaissle bids for a first competitive win as Newcastle boss at home to West Brom, while Tottenham host Charlton. To think that was almost a Championship fixture this season.
There are two games tomorrow, too, due to Sky Sports scheduling Fulham and Chelsea in their first Monday Night Football of the season. They are both at home, with games against Luton and Wimbledon kicking off in west London.
Wednesday 28 August
- Bradford City v Burnley
- Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion
- Preston North End v Everton
- Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic
Thursday 27 August
Jamie Braidwood26 August 2026 18:30
Carabao Cup draw: Last night’s second-round results
It was another good away day for Leeds as they won at Nottingham Forest for the second time in four days, while Hull avoided an exit as they scraped past Stoke on penalties. Fleetwood Town are the only fourth-tier side through after thumping Shrewsbury Town, also of League Two, while Brentford were back among the goals as they thrashed Birmingham 6-1.
Northern Section
Doncaster Rovers 1–3 Middlesbrough
Barnsley 3–2 Crewe Alexandra
Blackburn Rovers 1–2 Sheffield United
Blackpool 1–4 Lincoln City
Fleetwood Town 4–0 Shrewsbury Town
Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stoke City 1–1 (4–5 p) Hull City
Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds United
Southern Section
Cardiff City 1−2 Norwich City
Cambridge United 0–1 Millwall
Ipswich Town 3–1 Leicester City
Plymouth Argyle 2–4 Coventry City
Southampton 1–4 West Ham United
Stevenage 0–3 Reading
Walsall 0–0(5–6p) Leyton Orient
Watford 1–5 Peterborough United
Jamie Braidwood26 August 2026 18:20
When is Carabao Cup third round draw?
The draw for the Carabao Cup third round will take place today, Wednesday 26 August. The main draw will follow the conclusion of the second round tie between Preston and Everton which kicks off at 8pm BST, meaning the draw could start at around 10.15pm BST.
There is a pre-draw before kick-off at Deepdale, which will determine whether the Premier League sides in Europe will be home or away.
Coverage starts at 7pm BST, meaning the pre-draw is likely to take place at around 7:30pm BST.
Jack Rathborn26 August 2026 18:10
What teams are still in the Carabao Cup? Ball numbers for third round draw
1 AFC Bournemouth
2 Arsenal
3 Aston Villa
4 Crystal Palace
5 Manchester City
6 Manchester United
7 Liverpool
8 Sunderland
9 Barnsley
10 Brentford
11 Brighton & Hove Albion
12 Coventry City
13 Fleetwood Town
14 Hull City
15 Ipswich Town
16 Leeds United
17 Leyton Orient
18 Lincoln City
19 Middlesbrough
20 Millwall
21 Norwich City
22 Peterborough United
23 Reading
24 Sheffield United
25 West Ham United
26 Wolve rhampton Wanderers
27 Bradford City / Burnley
28 Newcastle United / West Bromwich Albion
29 Tottenham Hotspur / Charlton Athletic
30 Preston North End / Everton
31 Chelsea / Luton Town
32 Fulham / AFC Wimbledon
Jack Rathborn26 August 2026 18:05
How will the Carabao Cup third round draw work?
Pre-draw
Before the main draw, there is a pre-draw to decide if the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs will be at home or away. This part is before Preston North End’s Round Two tie against Everton on Sky Sports.
Main draw
The main draw will take place following the conclusion of Round Two tie, the first eight ties will involve those Champions League and Europa League clubs. Their home or away position will have already having been decided. They will then be drawn against a team in a separate bowl with the remaining teams in the competition – so cannot meet one another at this stage.
Following the conclusion of those eight ties being drawn, the final eight ties will be drawn as normal.
From Round Three onwards, there is no longer a divide between the Northern and Southern sections.
Jack Rathborn26 August 2026 18:00NewerOlder