This is when Sunderland will enter Carabao Cup as full first round draw made

The draw for the first round of this season’s Carabao Cup has been made, with Sunderland yet to enter the competition.

The Black Cats’ promotion last month means that they will not be required to participate in the earliest stages of the tournament, which was won by local rivals Newcastle United last term.

Nevertheless, despite the absence of Premier League sides, there are still a number of eye-catching ties taking place in Round One of the Carabao Cup, with Sunderland’s Championship play-off opponents Coventry City and Sheffield United facing Luton Town and Birmingham City respectively, while newly relegated Ipswich Town will come up against League Two outfit Bromley.

When will Sunderland enter the 2025/26 Carabao Cup?

Following their promotion back to the Premier League, Sunderland will enter the tournament in the second round, while those top flight clubs who are taking part in European competition will be included in the draw from the third round onwards.

The Carabao Cup will also include a Preliminary Round for the upcoming campaign to reduce the number of club in the first round and second round draws so as to accommodate the unusually high number of European qualifiers from the Premier League.

Preliminary fixtures will be contested by Barnet and Oldham Athletic, who have been newly-promoted to League Two, and Accrington Stanley and Newport County, who finished just above the relegation zone in the fourth tier this season.

What changes have been made to the Carabao Cup ahead of the 2025/26 campaign?

An official statement from the EFL explaining the format changes reads: “This season’s Carabao Cup will require a Preliminary Round to be introduced ahead of Round One due to nine Premier League teams being involved in European competition in 2025/26.

“The format of the Carabao Cup will be amended to introduce a four-team preliminary qualifying round, to reduce the number of clubs in Round One and Round Two in order to accommodate all Premier League European clubs in Round Three.

“The Preliminary Round will consist of the two promoted clubs from the National League (Barnet and Oldham Athletic) and the clubs finishing in 21st and 22nd place in League Two (Accrington Stanley and Newport County). The ties will be regionalised North and South as per Round One, with Accrington playing Oldham and Barnet playing Newport County.”

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Carabao Cup 2025/26 Round Dates

The round dates for the Carabao Cup have been confirmed as the following:

• Preliminary Round: w/c 4 August 2025
• Round One: w/c 11 August 2025
• Round Two: w/c 25 August 2025
• Round Three: w/c 15 September and w/c 22 September 2025*
• Round Four: w/c 27 October 2025
• Round Five: w/c 15 December 2025
• Semi-Final First Leg: w/c 12 January 2026
• Semi-Final Second Leg: w/c 2 February 2026
• Final: Sunday 22 March 2026

*Round Three will take place on the same basis as 2024/25, with split weeks for those clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

What is the full Carabao Cup first round draw?

Preliminary Round

• Accrington Stanley vs Oldham Athletic
• Barnet vs Newport County

First Round

• Coventry City vs Luton Town
• Bristol City vs MK Dons
• Bromley vs Ipswich Town
• Bristol Rovers vs Cambridge United
• Leyton Orient vs Wycombe Wanderers
• Watford vs Norwich City
• Charlton Athletic vs Stevenage
• Oxford United vs Colchester United
• Barnet/Newport County vs Millwall
• Cardiff City vs Swindon Town
• Gillingham vs AFC Wimbledon
• Northampton Town vs Southampton
• Cheltenham Town vs Exeter City
• Plymouth Argyle vs QPR
• Swansea City vs Crawley Town
• Portsmouth vs Reading
• Barrow vs Preston North End
• Grimsby Town vs Shrewsbury Town
• Blackpool vs Port Vale
• Salford City vs Rotherham United
• Harrogate Town vs Lincoln City
• Tranmere Rovers vs Burton Albion
• Stockport County vs Crewe Alexandra
• Huddersfield Town vs Leicester City
• Wrexham vs Hull City
• Birmingham City vs Sheffield United
• Stoke City vs Walsall
• Accrington Stanley/Oldham Athletic vs Peterborough United
• Blackburn Rovers vs Bradford City
• Middlesbrough vs Doncaster Rovers
• West Brom vs Derby County
• Bolton Wanderers vs Sheffield Wednesday
• Chesterfield vs Mansfield Town
• Barnsley vs Fleetwood Town
• Wigan Athletic vs Notts County

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