Respective 10th and 17th-place finishes in the Premier League last season mean no European football at all this term and the London rivals are therefore entering English football’s secondary club competition a round earlier than they would usually be accustomed to.
The rest of the Premier League clubs also come in at this stage, bar the nine who are competing across the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League during the forthcoming campaign.
This has been done to try and ease fixture congestion, with clubs previously having to play three times in a week so early in the season.
Fourth-tier Walsall kicked off proceedings by stunning Championship opponents Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate on Thursday night, after Crawley and Rochdale had earlier come through preliminary round meetings with York and Tranmere respectively.
When is the Carabao Cup draw?
The draw for the second round of this season’s Carabao Cup comes on Monday August 10, 2026.
It will take place during the build-up to the Devon derby clash between Plymouth and Exeter at Home Park, with a start time of approximately 7:20pm BST.
The draw will be hosted by Sky Sports presenter David Prutton and conducted by pundits Jobi McAnuff and Jamie Mackie.
Eyes on the prize: The Carabao Cup trophy currently belongs to Manchester City
Getty
How to watch the Carabao Cup draw
TV channel: The Carabao Cup second-round draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch it unfold live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow the draw as it happens with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Which clubs are in the Carabao Cup second round?
11 Premier League clubs in total will join the 35 first-round winners in the Carabao Cup second round.
Chelsea and Tottenham are among that number, along with Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle, Everton, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, plus newly-promoted trio Coventry, Ipswich and Hull.
The three teams relegated from the Premier League last season – West Ham, Burnley and Wolves – all enter in the first round.
Holders Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool are all competing in the Champions League this season, while Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace are in the Europa League, with Brighton in the Conference League.
Those nine clubs in Europe do not join the Carabao Cup party until the third-round stage next month.
It is worth noting that the Carabao Cup remains regionalised through the first and second rounds, before opening up thereafter.
Carabao Cup draw ball numbers
Ball numbers for the second-round draw will be confirmed after the bulk of the first-round ties have been played this weekend.
When will second-round ties be played?
The second-round games will be played during the week commencing August 24, returning to a more familiar midweek slot.
