EFL confirms revised Carabao Cup format as nine Premier League clubs enter Europe

The EFL has confirmed a revised Carabao Cup structure for the 2025-26 season after nine Premier League clubs secured European football, necessitating a preliminary round to keep the draw mathematically balanced.

Crystal Palace’s victory over Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final made them the ninth English side to guarantee European competition next season, joining Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, and Brighton. With that many top-flight clubs entering the Carabao Cup at Round Three rather than the opening stages, the EFL needed to adjust the number of teams entering earlier in the competition.

Four League Two clubs — York City, Rochdale, Crawley Town, and Tranmere Rovers — will contest a preliminary round to determine which two sides progress to the first round proper. York City and Rochdale earned their places through promotion from the National League.

The preliminary round does carry a logistical complication. The first two rounds of the Carabao Cup are regionalised, splitting clubs into northern and southern sections. Crawley Town, a southern club, will play in a preliminary tie whose winner feeds into the southern section of Round One — but the other three clubs in the preliminary round would ordinarily be placed in the northern half. To address the imbalance, the draw will be adjusted before Round Two, with the most southerly team in the northern section swapping across if required.

Seventy teams will enter Round One in total, with 35 advancing to Round Two. They will then be joined by the 11 Premier League clubs with no European commitments. The nine sides in Europe enter at Round Three, as has been standard practice, with 32 teams required at that stage of the competition.

The draw for the preliminary round fixtures is scheduled for Wednesday, 4 June.