The 64th edition of the League Cup (also known as the Carabao Cup after its sponsor) got underway on August 8 with the 1st Round, and the 2nd Round draw has already taken place.
After the Community Shield won by Arsenal on August 6, the League Cup will be the first domestic trophy of the 2023/24 season awarded on Sunday, February 25, 2024 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Manchester United are the holders of the trophy after defeating Newcastle United in the 2023 final. Both of last season's finalists will enter the competition in the 3rd Round to be played in September.
In addition to silverware, the winner of the EFL Cup earns a place in the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League playoffs with a chance to qualify for the group stage of that European cup competition.
🔜 The Road to Wembley begins once more! #EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/NOqQ6PtXxn
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) August 6, 2023
How does the Carabao Cup work in 2023/24?
The EFL Cup (Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons) features all 92 participating clubs from the top four tiers of English football: Premier League (20 clubs), Championship (24 clubs), League One (24), and League Two (24).
The 12 Premier League clubs not involved in European cup competitions join in the 2nd Round, and the remaining eight sides join in the 3rd Round.
- 1st Round: Aug. 8-9, Aug. 16
- 2nd Round: Aug. 29-30
- 3rd Round (Rd of 32): Sept. 27-28
- 4th Round (Rd of 16): Oct. 31 - Nov. 1
- Quarter-finals: Dec. 20-21
- Semi-finals: Jan. 9-10 (Leg 1), Jan. 23-24 (Leg 2)
- Final: Sun, Feb. 25
Every round is single-elimination except for the semifinals, which are played over two legs. There is no extra time up to and including the quarter finals (page 580 of regulations), with matches going straight to penalties if the score is level after 90 minutes.
However, extra time will be in effect for the semifinal second legs (no away goals tiebreaker) and the final, if necessary.
Carabao Cup 2nd Round draw, fixtures
The 2nd Round draw was held at the end of the Burton Albion vs. Leicester City 1st Round match on Wednesday, Aug. 9.
Although there was still one last 1st Round match to be played — QPR vs. Norwich City on Wednesday, Aug. 16 — tournament officials went ahead with the draw given the quick turnaround with the 2nd Round scheduled for Aug. 29-30.
In the 2nd Round, the 12 Premier League clubs not involved in European competition joined the 36 teams advancing from the opening round.
There are two all-Premier League battles with Fulham vs. Tottenham and Nottingham Forest vs. Burnley, while Chelsea host League Two side AFC Wimbledon. Two other League Two clubs, Wrexham and Bradford City, will meet in Wales for a spot in the 3rd Round.
- Premier League: 12 clubs
- Championship: 14 clubs
- League One: 10 clubs
- League Two: 12 clubs
🔢🏆 Watch the draw for Round Two of the #CarabaoCup!
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) August 9, 2023
Tune in to @SkyFootball or watch live right here.#EFLhttps://t.co/3l8jq9jXGS
| Date | Match | Time (BST / ET) |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Harrogate Town (L2) vs. Blackburn (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Stoke City (Ch) vs. Rotherham (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Wrexham (L2) vs. Bradford City (L2) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Doncaster (L2) vs. Everton (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Bolton (L1) vs. Middlesbrough (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Port Vale (L1) vs. Crewe Alexandra (L2) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Nott'm Forest (PL) vs. Burnley (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Sheffield W'day (Ch) vs. Mansfield (L2) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Wolves (PL) vs. Blackpool (L1) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Sheffield United (PL) vs. Lincoln City (L1) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Tranmere (L2) vs. Leicester City (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Salford City (L2) vs. Leeds United (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Bristol City (Ch) vs. QPR/Norwich (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Plymouth (Ch) vs. Crystal Palace (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Reading (L1) vs. Ipswich Town (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Portsmouth (L1) vs. Peterborough (L1) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Luton Town (PL) vs. Gillingham (L2) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Swansea City (Ch) vs. Bournemouth (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Fulham (PL) vs. Tottenham (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Exeter City (L1) vs. Stevenage (L1) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Wycombe (L1) vs. Sutton United (L2) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Birmingham City (Ch) vs. Cardiff City (Ch) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Newport County (L2) vs. Brentford (PL) | TBD |
| Tue/Wed, Aug. 29/30 | Chelsea (PL) vs. AFC Wimbledon (L2) | TBD |
Carabao Cup 1st Round fixtures, results
The opening round of the Carabao Cup sees all 72 clubs from the Championship (2nd division), League One (3rd division), and League Two (4th division).
They were drawn into 36 single-elimination knockout matches based on geography with a draw involving northern clubs and a separate draw for southern-based clubs.
Matches level after 90 minutes went straight to penalties.
| Date | Match/Result | Time (BST / ET) |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Huddersfield 2-3 Middlesbrough | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Swansea 3-0 Northampton Town | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Mansfield Town 2-0 Grimsby Town | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Newport County 3-1 Charlton | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Peterborough 1-1 Swindon Town (Peterborough advance 4-1 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Leyton Orient | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Barrow | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Gillingham 3-1 Southampton | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Forest Green 1-3 Portsmouth | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Rotherham 1-1 (4-2) Morecambe (Rotherham advance 4-2 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Cheltenham 0-2 Birmingham City | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Accrington Stanley 1-1 Bradford City (Bradford advance 4-1 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Stevenage 1-1 Watford (Stevenage advance 4-3 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Hull City 1-2 Doncaster | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Millwall 0-4 Reading | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Stockport Sheffield Wed. advance 4-1 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Sunderland 1-1 Crewe Alexandra (Crewe advance 5-3 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Notts County 0-2 Lincoln City | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Preston North End 2-2 Salford City (Salford City advance 4-2 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Harrogate Town 1-0 Carlisle | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Barnsley 2-2 Tranmere Rovers (Tranmere advance 7-6 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Exeter City 2-1 Crawley Town | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Derby County 0-2 Blackpool | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Walsall | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Port Vale 3-2 Fleetwood | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Sutton United 2-2 Cambridge United (Sutton advance 6-5 on pens) | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | MK Dons 0-2 Wycombe | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Stoke City 2-1 West Brom | Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 8 | Wrexham 0-0 Wigan Athletic (Wrexham advance 4-2 on pens) | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | Leeds United 2-1 Shrewsbury | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | Bristol City 5-1 Oxford United | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Coventry City | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | Cardiff City 2-2 Colchester (Cardiff advance 3-0 on pens) | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | Ipswich Town 2-0 Bristol Rovers | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 9 | Burton 0-2 Leicester City | Highlights |
| Wed, Aug. 16 | QPR vs. Norwich City | 7:45 p.m. / 2:45 p.m. |
Carabao Cup live streams, TV channel 2023/24
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| TV channel | Sky Sports | — | — | beIN Sports |
| Streaming | Sky Go, NOW TV | ESPN+ | DAZN | beIN Connect, Kayo Sports |
UK: Sky Sports is the exclusive broadcaster of the Carabao Cup in the UK.
USA: ESPN's streaming platform ESPN+ is the home of the Carabao Cup in the USA. Select matches from early rounds are available to be streamed, followed by all matches from the Round of 16 through to the final.
Canada: DAZN has the Carabao Cup streaming rights in Canada with select matches carried from the early rounds.
Australia: The Carabao Cup broadcaster for fans in Australia is beIN Sports.
Why is it called Carabao Cup?
This knockout tournament has historically been called the League Cup or EFL Cup, which unlike the FA Cup which is overseen by the English Football Association (FA), is instead organised by the English Football League (EFL).
The EFL in the past incorporated each of the top four divisions of English football before the formation of the Premier League in 1992/93. Today, the EFL is comprised of the second-tier Championship, third-tier League One, and fourth-tier League Two. But Premier League clubs are still invited to participate in the League Cup (EFL Cup) every season.
Beginning in the 1990s, corporations began paying to attach their name to this tournament and the sponsor names caught on for brief periods when it was known as the Coca-Cola Cup, the Worthington's Cup, and the Carling Cup.
The latest sponsor is Thai energy drink company Carabao, which bought the title rights of the knockout tournament beginning with the 2017/18 edition, leading to the use of the Carabao Cup moniker that is popularly used today.
