Carabao Cup draw LIVE: First round fixtures including Wrexham, Coventry and all 72 EFL clubs
Premier League clubs start to enter the competition in the second round
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The first major cup draw for the 2023/24 season took place ahead of the new campaign starting, with English Football League clubs finding out how they will start life in this year’s Carabao Cup adventure.
All 72 EFL sides feature in the first round, which is split into north and south sections for purposes of the draw. The victors will be joined by 12 Premier League teams in the second round, before the remaining eight join in at the third-round stage. For now though it’s all about the lower league sides and the start of their journey, on the day they also discovered their league fates with the 23/24 fixture lists revealed.
Manchester United won the competition last term but now another opportunity for silverware arises, with League Cup round one matches starting from week commencing 7 August and the final set for Wembley on 25 February 2024. Follow the Carabao Cup first round draw live below:
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Gillingham vs Southampton
QPR vs Norwich City
Peterborough United vs Swindon Town
Cardiff City vs Colchester
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Millwall vs Reading
AFC Wimbledon vs Coventry City
Bristol City vs Oxford United
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Cheltenham vs Birmingham City
Sutton United vs Cambridge United
MK Dons vs Wycombe Wanderers
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers
Newport County vs Charlton Athletic
Stevenage vs Watford
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
This is the Southern section first, by the way!
Forest Green Rovers vs Portsmouth
Swansea City vs Northampton
Exeter City vs Crawley
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Carabao Cup first round draw underway:
Plymouth Argyle vs Leyton Orient
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Michael Dawson is the man in the prestigious spot of discussing getting to the final and making the draw.
“Great memories,” he says about his win with Spurs.
Danny Cowley, formerly Lincoln and Huddersfield boss, is also here with them.
Nothing like a self-important Uefa ceremony, this: a couple of questions each and we’re getting straight into it. No collages, montages or re-reading of rules everybody has known for a decade already. Here we go!
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
The last team to win the League Cup who are not now in the Premier League were Swansea City - they triumphed in 2013.
For a team to win the competition while not in the top flight, we go all the way back to 1991 and Sheffield Wednesday, while only a further half a dozen clubs from outside the Premier League have made the final since then.
Time for the main event, just about: the draw for the Carabao Cup first round is coming up!
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Here’s the full schedule for the League Cup in 2023/24 - so the games drawn out today will be played only six weeks or so from now.
- Carabao Cup Round One - w/c 7 August 2023
- Carabao Cup Round Two - w/c 28 August 2023
- Carabao Cup Round Three - w/c 25 September 2023
- Carabao Cup Round Four - w/c 30 October 2023
- Carabao Cup Quarter-Final - w/c 18 December 2023
- Carabao Cup Semi-Final (first leg) - w/c 8 January 2024
- Carabao Cup Semi-Final (second leg) - w/c 21 January 2024
- Carabao Cup Final - Sunday 25 February 2024
Carabao Cup first round draw live updates
Looking back to last season, the EFL club which went furthest in the competition was League One outfit Charlton Athletic.
They reached the quarter-final stage, before losing to eventual winners Man United. Prior to that they knocked out Brighton on penalties though, while MK Dons, Gillingham, Lincoln, Burnley and Blackburn all reached the last-16.
Who will manage to go furthest this term, and who will produce the biggest giant-killing?
That award for 22/23 probably went to the Gills, who beat Brentford on penalties in the third round.
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