The third-round draw for the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday, 26 August following the conclusion of Preston North End vs Everton. Nine Premier League clubs taking part in European football join the 23 first-round winners from across the English Football League. Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace will enter the competition at this stage, as the top eight Premier League clubs from the 2025-26 season plus Crystal Palace as Conference League winners.
It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the third round tie between Preston North End and Everton, kicking off at that evening. Unlike the opening two rounds of the competition, the third round draw is not regionalised. However, before the match at Deepdale there will be a pre-draw determining which of the Champions League and Europa League clubs will play at home or away in round three.
In order to avoid potential scheduling issues, the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs cannot be drawn against each other in round three. When the draw takes place, the first eight fixtures decided are the ones involving clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. The remainder of the draw will be an open draw as usual.
Due to clashes with opening weeks of the Champions League and Europa League seasons, the third round will be played across two different weeks. They are the weeks commencing Monday, 7 and Monday, 14 September, 2026. Sheffield Wednesday or Wolverhampton Wanderers Newcastle United or West Bromwich Albion This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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