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The Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place on Wednesday 26 August after Preston North End's second-round tie against Everton. Manchester City enter as holders alongside other European-bound Premier League clubs, with ties split across two midweeks to accommodate continental schedules.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 25–26, 2026 Published 12h ago

Carabao Cup third-round draw: date, time, how to watch and teams involved

The Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place this week, with several of the Premier League's leading clubs entering the competition at this stage. The draw will be held on Wednesday 26 August, following the conclusion of the second-round tie between Preston North End and Everton, which kicks off at 8pm BST. The draw is scheduled to begin at approximately 10.30pm UK time, though it could start slightly earlier at around 10.15pm BST depending on when that match finishes.

How to watch the draw

The draw will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream it live through the Sky Go app or via NOW TV.

Teams involved and how the draw works

The third round features 32 clubs in total: the 23 winners from the second round plus nine Premier League clubs competing in UEFA competitions this season. Those nine clubs are Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United, who are all in the Champions League; Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who are in the Europa League; and Brighton & Hove Albion, who are competing in the Conference League.

Before the main draw, a pre-draw determines whether the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs will be at home or away. That pre-draw takes place before Preston North End's second-round tie against Everton on Sky Sports. In the main draw, those eight European clubs are seeded and placed in a separate bowl, ensuring they do not meet one another at this stage. After the first eight ties involving those clubs are drawn, the remaining eight ties are drawn as normal. From the third round onwards, there is no longer a divide between the Northern and Southern sections.

The seeding is intended to help avoid fixture congestion with the expanded European calendar. All European sides are seeded to keep them separate in the main draw.

When will the third-round matches be played?

To accommodate European fixture schedules, third-round ties will be split across two midweeks. The matches are scheduled to take place in consecutive weeks, starting on 7 September and 14 September. Brighton & Hove Albion's Conference League campaign does not begin until October, so it does not affect the Carabao Cup third-round schedule.

Manchester City are the current Carabao Cup winners and will be among the clubs entering at this stage.

How each outlet told it

The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC

Framing: Focuses on the logistics of the third-round draw, emphasizing date, time, and broadcast information. — Informational and procedural, with a neutral tone. Example: 'Here’s everything you need to know about the draw.'

Facts Included:

The Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place on Wednesday 26 August, following the Preston vs Everton second-round tie.
Manchester City are the current cup winners and enter the competition at this stage.
Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United are among the teams entering at this stage.
The third round will be played across two midweeks to accommodate European fixtures.
Pre-draw will determine home/away for eight Champions League and Europa League clubs.
European clubs are seeded and cannot meet each other in the main draw.
33 teams involved: 23 winners of second-round ties plus nine additional Premier League clubs in Europe.
The nine clubs are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Sunderland.
Brighton's Conference League campaign starts in October, so it doesn't affect the third-round schedule.
List of second-round winners and pending ties (e.g., Bradford/Burnley, Newcastle/West Brom).
Third-round matches scheduled for consecutive weeks starting 7 and 14 September.

Read the source article →

South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC

Framing: Focuses on the third-round draw details, emphasizing date, time, and how to watch. — Informative and neutral, providing practical details. Example: 'Here’s everything you need to know about the draw.'

Facts Included:

The Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place on Wednesday, August 26.
The draw starts at approximately 10.30pm UK time, after the Preston North End vs Everton second-round tie.
Broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with streaming via Sky Go and NOW TV.
32 clubs involved, including 23 second-round winners and nine Premier League clubs in Europe.
European clubs include Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa (Champions League), Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Sunderland (Europa League), and Brighton (Conference League).
Seeding keeps European sides separate in the main draw.
Third-round ties will be split across two midweeks to accommodate European schedules.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe Carabao Cup third-round draw takes place on Wednesday 26 August.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe Carabao Cup third-round draw will take place after the conclusion of the second-round tie between Preston North End and Everton.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe Carabao Cup third-round draw will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimThe draw for the Carabao Cup third round will be streamed live on Sky Go and NOW TV.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimThe Carabao Cup third round features 32 clubs in total, including the 23 winners from the second round and nine Premier League clubs competing in UEFA competitions this season.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimThe nine Premier League clubs entering the Carabao Cup third round are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Sunderland.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimAll European sides in the Carabao Cup third round draw are seeded to keep them separate in the main draw.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 25, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimA pre-draw will determine whether the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs will be at home or away in the Carabao Cup third round.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimFrom the Carabao Cup third round onwards, there is no longer a divide between the Northern and Southern sections.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimThe Carabao Cup third round is scheduled to take place across consecutive weeks, starting on 7 September and 14 September.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimBrighton & Hove Albion are competing in the Conference League, but that competition does not begin until October, so it does not affect the Carabao Cup third round schedule.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC
ClaimManchester City are the current Carabao Cup winners.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Independent as of Aug 26, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: The Independent, South Wales Echo 12 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-26