When is the Carabao Cup Third Round draw? Remaining teams, time of draw and fixture dates revealed

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This season's Carabao Cup has already provided twists, turns and even a handful of shock results before the Third Round stage

The Carabao Cup on a green plinth at Wembley Stadium, February 2023
The Carabao Cup on a green plinth at Wembley Stadium (Image credit: Alamy)

The Third Round of the Carabao Cup is scheduled to be played midway through next month, but which teams will be in the draw?

It is at this stage of the competition that teams also competing in Europe enter the fray, which includes the likes of holders Newcastle United, Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal and Premier League champions Liverpool.

Sixteen top flight sides, seven Championship clubs, 11 League One teams and a pair of League Two outfits remain in the competition. Here is all the necessary information you need ahead of the Third Round draw.

Bruno Guimaraes & Joelinton of Newcastle United celebrate with the trophy & team-mates at the end of the Carabao Cup Final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on March 16, 2025 in London, England

Holders Newcastle enter at the Third Round stage alongside the other teams competing in Europe this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

When is the Carabao Cup 3rd Round draw?

The draw will take place on the evening of Wednesday, August 27 following Manchester United's visit to Grimsby Town in Round Two.

Teams still in the competition will discover their next opponent from 10pm, straight after Sky Sports' coverage of the Red Devils. This may be delayed slightly depending on the outcome of Man United's trip to East Yorkshire.

If that tie requires penalties after 90 minutes, the draw will subsequently take place later than the initially planned time.

A special pre-draw will be held before the main event to determine whether the nine clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League will play their matches at home or away. Teams in Europe can also not be drawn against each other to prevent fixture clashes with their European schedules.

Where can fans watch the draw?

The Third Round draw will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports News channels.

When does the Third Round take place?

Matches will be played on the weeks commencing September 15 and 22, avoiding European competition clashes where necessary.

This is likely to mean games take place on September 16-17 and September 23-24, 2025.

Which teams are still in the draw?

Premier League: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship: Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Swansea City, Wrexham

League One: Barnsley, Bradford City, Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Lincoln City, Port Vale, Reading, Wigan Athletic, Wycombe Wanderers

League Two: Cambridge United

Second Round ties to be played: Grimsby Town vs Manchester United, Everton vs Mansfield Town, Oxford United vs Brighton and Hove Albion, Fulham vs Bristol City

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Joe Donnohue
Joe Donnohue
Senior Digital Writer

Joe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.

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