The introduction of a preliminary round marks the first structural change to the competition in several years and affects four lower-league sides.
The two teams promoted from the National League—Oldham Athletic and Barnet—will join the two sides who finished 21st and 22nd in League Two last season—Accrington Stanley and Newport County—in a one-off round prior to the traditional Round One draw.
The ties have been regionalised, in keeping with long-standing early-round principles. Accrington Stanley will host Oldham Athletic in a North-section fixture, while Barnet take on Newport County in the South-section equivalent. The home teams for these fixtures will be determined as part of the main first-round draw, scheduled for 26 June at 16:30 BST.
The preliminary round is set to take place in the week commencing 4 August 2025, just days before the new EFL season kicks off. All other EFL clubs will enter at the first-round stage, with the exception of the two eliminated sides.
The EFL confirmed the change was implemented to manage the growing number of Premier League teams competing in Europe. A total of nine top-flight clubs will play continental football in 2025–26—Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, and Crystal Palace. These sides will receive a bye until the third round.
The remaining eleven Premier League teams, not competing in Europe, will enter in round two, which will take place in the week commencing 25 August.
Below is a full breakdown of this season’s Carabao Cup schedule:
- Preliminary round: w/c 4 August 2025
- Round one: w/c 11 August 2025
- Round two: w/c 25 August 2025
- Round three: split between w/c 15 & 22 September 2025
- Round four: w/c 27 October 2025
- Round five: w/c 15 December 2025
- Semi-finals: 1st leg – w/c 12 January 2026, 2nd leg – w/c 2 February 2026
- Final: Sunday, 22 March 2026
Writer’s View
The inclusion of a preliminary round is a subtle but significant change that speaks volumes about the current state of English football scheduling. For clubs like Barnet and Oldham Athletic, who have fought hard to return to the EFL, being required to play an additional game just to reach Round One feels harsh. The financial rewards of a Carabao Cup run can be transformative for lower-league clubs, so placing barriers in front of the very teams who benefit most seems counterproductive, especially as they’re virtually worthless in the early rounds.
It’s not even like the big clubs care about the competition. That said, with nine Premier League sides in Europe, there was always going to be pressure on early-round logistics. But this again highlights the imbalance between the top and bottom of the pyramid—where the elite are protected and the rest must make do. For the clubs involved in the preliminary round, the challenge now is simple: win or miss out on the prize pot altogether.
