The second-round winners in the EFL Cup 2025/26 will not have long to wait to discover their opponents in the next round of the competition.
More Premier League clubs will be involved in the draw, with teams involved in the Champions League and Europa League entering for the first time at this stage.
Reigning top-flight champions Liverpool have won the EFL Cup a record 10 times, followed by Manchester City with eight titles and Manchester United with six.
101GreatGoals.com has all the details on the draw for the 2025/26 EFL Cup third round, including how to watch on TV and live stream.
When is the EFL Cup third round draw 2025/26?
The draw will take place during the build-up to Grimsby Town’s home tie against Manchester United on Wednesday, August 27.
Ball numbers will be published on this page on the day of the draw.
What time is the EFL Cup third round draw?
The draw will take place during Sky Sports’ build-up coverage to the game, which starts at 19:00 BST (14:00 ET / 11:00 PT).
Kick-off in the contest between the League Two club and the 20-time English champions is an hour later.
EFL Cup third round draw TV channel
Sky Sports are covering the match and broadcasting the draw beforehand on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
EFL Cup third round draw live stream
The draw will be available to live stream on a vast variety of devices via the Sky GO app.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
EFL Cup second round draw 2025/26
All matches start at 19:45 BST unless stated otherwise.
Northern Section
Tuesday, August 26
Burton Albion vs Lincoln City
Accrington Stanley vs Doncaster Rovers
Wigan Athletic vs Stockport County
Stoke City vs Bradford City
Burnley vs Derby County
Sunderland vs Huddersfield Town
Birmingham City vs Port Vale
Preston North End vs Wrexham
Barnsley vs Rotherham United
Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds United (20:00)
Wednesday, August 27
Everton vs Mansfield Town
Grimsby Town vs Manchester United (20:00)
Southern section
Tuesday, August 26
Reading vs Wimbledon (19:00)
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic (19:30)
Wolves vs West Ham (19:30)
Norwich City vs Southampton
Bournemouth vs Brentford
Millwall vs Coventry City
Swansea City vs Plymouth Argyle
Bromley vs Wycombe Wanderers
Cardiff City vs Cheltenham Town
Wednesday, August 27
Fulham vs Bristol City
Oxford United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
When is the EFL Cup third round 2025/26?
The fixtures will take place across the weeks of September 15 and 22.
More of this to come from one of @Arsenal‘s biggest talents 💫✍️#EFL | #CarabaoCup https://t.co/huh59urNqQ pic.twitter.com/0c7O2UzHAx
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) August 8, 2025
EFL Cup: Are Premier League in the Carabao Cup third round?
The 11 Premier League clubs not involved in European competition joined the competition in the second round, giving EFL clubs their first shots at providing upsets this season.
The nine Premier League teams who are in Europe are now joining the EFL Cup third round.
EFL Cup dates 2025/26: When are the Carabao Cup round dates?
Round one started during the second week of the EFL season. A new preliminary round also started in late July between the two clubs promoted from the National League last season and the teams who finished 21st and 22nd in League Two.
There will be split weeks in round three for clubs in the Champions League and Europa League.
EFL Cup preliminary round
Week commencing August 4, 2025
EFL Cup round one
August 11, 2025
EFL Cup round two
August 25, 2025
EFL Cup round three
September 15 and 22, 2025
EFL Cup round four
October 27, 2025
EFL Cup round five
December 15, 2025
EFL Cup semi-final first leg
January 12, 2026
EFL Cup semi-final second leg
February 2, 2026
EFL Cup final
Sunday, March 22, 2026
EFL Cup fixtures, results 2025/26: Schedule, latest draw
All matches start at 19:45 UK time unless otherwise stated.
EFL Cup preliminary round fixtures, results
Tuesday, July 29
Barnet 2-2 (2-4p) Newport County
Tuesday, August 5
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Oldham Athletic
EFL Cup round one fixtures, results
Tuesday, August 12
Barrow 0-1 Preston North End
Grimsby Town 3-1 Shrewsbury Town
Blackpool 0-1 Port Vale
Salford City 0-0 (2-3p) Rotherham
Harrogate Town 1-3 Lincoln City
Tranmere Rovers 1-1 (4-5p) Burton Albion
Stockport County 3-1 Crewe Alexandra
Wrexham 3-3 (5-3p) Hull City
Stoke City 0-0 (4-3p) Walsall
Accrington 2-1 Peterborough United
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Bradford City
Middlesbrough 0-4 Doncaster Rovers
West Brom 1-1 (2-3p) Derby County
Chesterfield 0-2 Mansfield Town
Wigan Athletic 1-0 Notts County
Coventry City 1-0 Luton Town
Bristol City 2-0 MK Dons
Bromley 1-1 (5-4p) Ipswich Town
Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United
Leyton Orient 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Watford 1-2 Norwich City
Charlton Athletic 3-1 Stevenage
Oxford United 1-0 Colchester United
Newport County 0-1 Millwall
Cardiff City 2-1 Swindon Town
Gillingham 1-1 (2-4p) AFC Wimbledon
Northampton Town 0-1 Southampton
Plymouth Argyle 3-2 QPR
Swansea City 3-1 Crawley Town
Portsmouth 1-2 Reading
Wednesday, August 13
Barnsley 2-2 (5-4p) Fleetwood Town
Bolton Wanderers 3-3 (2-4p) Sheffield Wednesday
Cheltenham Town 2-0 Exeter
Huddersfield Town 2-2 (3-2p) Leicester City
Birmingham City 2-1 Sheffield United
EFL Cup TV channel: How to watch the Carabao Cup
All EFL Cup matches will be available to watch on Sky Sports or Sky Sports+ as part of a deal between the league and the broadcaster to show more than 1,000 of the 1,891 games across the EFL, EFL Cup and Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
EFL Cup live stream: Watch the Carabao Cup online
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
Fans can watch online and on the move with the SkyGO app, which is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and mobile devices.
Do the EFL Cup winners qualify for Europe?
The EFL Cup winners receive a place in the play-off stage of the UEFA Conference League unless they qualify through another route for European competition.
Newcastle were an example of the rule in action in 2024/25, instead qualifying for the Champions League through their league position.
That meant their Conference League play-off place went to the next-highest ranked team who had not qualified for European competition via their league position.
Do EFL Cup ties go to extra time, replays and penalties?
Should they finish level after 90 minutes, EFL Cup ties go straight to penalties until the semi-finals, which take place over two legs.
If the scoreline is level after the second leg, extra time and – if necessary – penalties are used to separate teams.
The final is a one-off match at Wembley Stadium, with extra time and penalties used if required.
Liverpool beat Chelsea 11-10 on penalties in the 2021/22 final and edged the same fixture after extra time in 2023/24 through Virgil van Dijk’s 118th-minute winner.
Newcastle beat Liverpool 2-1 in the 2024/25 final to win their first domestic trophy since 1955.
