A total of 92 clubs will do battle to succeed Liverpool as winners of the 2022/23 Carabao Cup, also known as the League Cup or EFL Cup, which is the first major domestic cup trophy awarded in England every year.
Liverpool beat Chelsea in the final of the 2021/22 edition after a memorable penalty shootout decided the clash between the two Premier League heavyweights. Liverpool overcame Norwich City (3rd Round), Preston North End (4th Round), Leicester City (quarter-finals), and Arsenal (semi-finals) en route to the title.
The 92 participating clubs in the tournament hail from the top four tiers of English football: Premier League (20 clubs), Championship (24 clubs), League One (24), and League Two (24).
The 13 Premier League clubs not involved in European cup competitions join in the 2nd Round, and the remaining seven sides enter in the 3rd Round.
- 1st Round: Aug. 9-11
- 2nd Round: Aug. 23-25
- 3rd Round (Rd of 32): Nov. 8-10
- 4th Round (Rd of 16): Dec. 20-22
- Quarter-finals: Jan. 10-12
- Semi-finals: Jan. 24-26 (Leg 1), Jan. 31-Feb. 2 (Leg 2)
- Final: Sun, Feb. 26
Every round is single-elimination except for the semi-finals, which are played over two legs (no away goals tiebreaker). There is no extra time up to and including the quarter-finals, with matches level after 90 minutes going straight to penalties.
However, extra time will be in effect for the semi-final second legs and the final, if necessary.
The final is traditionally held at Wembley Stadium in London.
Carabao Cup 2nd Round draw
We’re already looking ahead to the Carabao Cup 2nd Round draw which will be held on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the Sheffield Wednesday vs. Sunderland 1st Round match on Wednesday, August 10.
Depending on whether the match goes to penalties, the draw will happen between 21:45 BST (16:45 ET) and 22:00 BST (17:00 ET).
The 35 winners from the 1st Round will be joined by the 13 Premier League clubs not involved in European competition and the two relegated clubs from the Premier League which finished in 18th (Burnley) and 19th place (Watford) last season.
Here are the 43 clubs qualified to the 2nd Round thus far:
| No. of clubs | Clubs qualified | |
| Prem. League | 13 | Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle, Nott’m Forest, Southampton, Wolves |
| Championship | 4 | Burnley, Norwich City, Preston North End, Watford |
| League One | 14 | Bolton, Cambridge, Charlton, Derby, Exeter, Fleetwood, Forest Green, Lincoln City, MK Dons, Morecambe, Oxford, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury, Wycombe |
| League Two | 12 | Barrow, Bradford, Colchester, Crawley, Gillingham, Grimsby, Newport, Rochdale, Stevenage, Stockport, Tranmere, Walsall |
MORE: When is the Carabao Cup final 2022/23?
Carabao Cup 1st Round results
It was a disastrous 1st Round for Championship clubs, with 12 of the 14 teams in action so far suffering instant elimination from the knockout tournament.
And two more will be going down in the remaining fixtures given the two all-Championship battles on the schedule.
It is guaranteed that third-tier League One and fourth-tier League Two will have more representatives in the 2nd Round than the Championship.
MORE: Rundown of the most notable Carabao Cup first round matches
| Date | Match | Time / Highlights |
| Tue, Aug 2 | Cambridge United 1, Millwall 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Shrewsbury 3, Carlisle 2 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Blackpool 0, Barrow 0 (Barrow advance 4-3 pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Accrington Stanley 2, Tranmere 2 (Tranmere advance 12-11 on pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | AFC Wimbledon 0, Gillingham 2 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Northampton Town 1, Wycombe 2 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Oxford United 2, Swansea 2 (Oxford advance 5-3 on pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Rochdale 2, Burton 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Cheltenham 0, Exeter City 7 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Charlton 1, Queens Park Rangers 1 (Charlton advance 5-3 on pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Morecambe 0, Stoke City 0 (Morecambe advance 5-3 on pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Mansfield Town 1, Derby County 2 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Bradford City 2, Hull City 1 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Crawley Town 1, Bristol Rovers 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Huddersfield 1, Preston North End 4 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Ipswich Town 0, Colchester 1 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Grimsby Town 4, Crewe Alexandra 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Bolton Wanderers 5, Salford City 1 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Norwich City 2, Birmingham City 2 (Norwich advance 4-2 on pens) |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Harrogate Town 0, Stockport 1 | |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Doncaster 0, Lincoln City 3 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Luton Town 2, Newport County 3 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | MK Dons 1, Sutton United 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Forest Green 2, Leyton Orient 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Fleetwood 1, Wigan Athletic 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Cardiff City 0, Portsmouth 3 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Walsall 2, Swindon Town 0 | HIGHLIGHTS |
| Tue, Aug 9 | Reading 1, Stevenage 2 | |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Coventry City vs. Bristol City | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Blackburn vs. Hartlepool | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Plymouth Argyle vs. Peterborough | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Sheffield Wednesday vs. Sunderland | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Port Vale vs. Rotherham | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Wed, Aug 10 | Middlesbrough vs. Barnsley | 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET |
| Thu, Aug 11 | West Brom vs. Sheffield United | 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
Carabao Cup TV channel, live streams 2022/23
| 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 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?
The knockout tournament has long been known as the League Cup or EFL Cup since it is organised by the English Football League comprised of the second-tier Championship, third-tier League One, and fourth-division League Two.
Beginning in the 1990s, sponsors began attaching their name to this tournament and the sponsor names caught on: Coca-Cola Cup, 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.
Discussion about this post