The draw for the second round of the Carabao Cup was held on Sunday evening, with Premier League clubs who are not involved in European competition this season entering the competition for the first time. Chelsea and Tottenham, who finished 10th and 17th respectively in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, headline the list of top-flight sides joining the draw at this stage.
Tottenham were paired with League One's Charlton Athletic, while Chelsea will travel to face Luton Town. Elsewhere, Southampton were drawn against West Ham, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, and Fulham will host League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon.
The competition remains split into northern and southern sections for this round in order to reduce travel demands on clubs, meaning London-based sides such as Brentford, Fulham, Charlton, Leyton Orient, Millwall, West Ham and AFC Wimbledon were kept apart from the northern pool, raising the possibility of an all-London tie further into the tournament.
In the southern section, Birmingham City will face Brentford, Cambridge United host Millwall, and Stevenage welcome Reading. Cardiff City were drawn at home to Norwich City, while Walsall take on Leyton Orient and Ipswich Town were handed a tie against Leicester City. Watford will play host to Peterborough, and the winner of the yet-to-be-completed first-round tie between Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City will face Coventry City.
In the northern half of the draw, newly-promoted Hull City will take on Stoke City, while 2025 Carabao Cup winners Newcastle United were drawn against West Bromwich Albion. Nottingham Forest, four-time winners of the competition, will host Leeds United, and Blackburn Rovers were paired with Sheffield United. Doncaster Rovers will face Middlesbrough, while Barnsley take on Crewe Alexandra. Preston North End will host Everton, and Blackpool were drawn against Lincoln City.
Also in the northern section, 1991 winners Sheffield Wednesday were handed a tie against relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bradford City will face Burnley, and Fleetwood Town will host Shrewsbury Town.
All of the second-round fixtures are scheduled to be played in the week commencing 24 August, with the draw taking place before the final first-round tie between Plymouth and Exeter had been completed, meaning that particular pairing will be confirmed once that match concludes.
The draw came shortly after Millwall booked their place in the second round with a dramatic penalty shootout victory away at QPR in the first round. The London derby finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Luke Cundle's second-half strike for the Lions cancelled out by a late own goal from Mark Sykes. Millwall goalkeeper Lukas Jensen then produced an outstanding display in the shootout, saving efforts from Ilias Chair, Harvey Vale, Koki Saito and Kwame Poku to secure a 2-0 shootout win, with Jake Cooper and Sykes converting the decisive spot-kicks for the visitors. That victory sets up Millwall's second-round trip to Cambridge United.
With the draw for the second round now complete for the majority of fixtures, attention turns to the remaining first-round action before the competition resumes with a host of intriguing ties involving Premier League, Championship and lower-league clubs later this month.
Based on reporting from The Independent and Standard Sport.