The Carabao Cup is set to welcome its Premier League contingent into the competition proper, with the second-round draw scheduled for Monday, 10 August. Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and six other top-flight clubs will discover their opponents as the tournament builds toward matches in the week commencing 24 August.
Eight Premier League sides enter at this stage: Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle United, Everton, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham. Chelsea arrive as arguably the highest-profile name in the draw after missing out on European qualification last season, leaving manager Xabi Alonso eager to make an early mark by chasing a trophy in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham, who narrowly avoided relegation in 2025/26, will also be looking to use the competition as a springboard following a difficult league campaign.
The draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, woven into coverage of the Plymouth Argyle versus Exeter City fixture, which represents the final match of the first round. The draw itself is expected to take place at approximately 7:20pm BST during the pre-match build-up.
As in previous seasons, the second round remains regionalised, split into northern and southern sections to keep travel manageable for the 38 EFL clubs who progressed from round one, alongside the Premier League entrants. The northern section features 22 clubs including Everton, Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers, alongside Championship and lower-league sides such as Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers. The southern section, also comprising 22 teams before the Plymouth-Exeter winner is added, includes Chelsea, Tottenham, Brentford, Fulham, West Ham United and Leicester City, plus a mix of Championship, League One and League Two opposition including Southampton, Norwich City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City.
Round one produced no shocks among the three clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, all of whom advanced. West Ham United defeated fellow Championship outfit Portsmouth 3-1, while Wolves eased through with a dominant first-half display to see off Port Vale 3-0. Burnley had a tougher route, needing a penalty shootout to overcome League Two side Notts County.
With the second round set for the week of 24 August, attention will then turn to the competition's later stages. The full round schedule has already been confirmed: round three is split across the weeks commencing 7 and 14 September, followed by round four in the week of 26 October and round five in mid-December, during the week commencing 14 December. The semi-finals will be played over two legs, with the first leg in the week commencing 11 January 2027 and the return leg the week commencing 1 February 2027. The final itself will take place at Wembley on Sunday, 21 March 2027.
For Chelsea and Alonso, the competition offers an early opportunity to deliver silverware in what is his debut season in charge, following a summer of transition at the club. Spurs, meanwhile, will view the tournament as a chance to rebuild momentum after a season that ended with survival rather than success being the primary objective. Both London clubs, along with Newcastle, Everton, Leeds, Forest, Brentford and Fulham, now await Monday's draw to learn their path through to the latter stages of the competition.
Based on reporting from The Independent.