Chelsea and Tottenham in Carabao Cup Draw Tonight
Chelsea and Tottenham will step back into the Carabao Cup spotlight tonight, but from unfamiliar ground.
Twelve months ago they were looking up at England’s elite, chasing Europe. Now they enter the League Cup early, paying the price for last season’s bruising Premier League campaigns that ended in 10th and 17th place respectively. No European nights, no Thursday-Sunday grind. Just a clear run at domestic cups – and a reminder of how far they fell.
Tonight, they at least find out where that road begins.
London giants in the hat early
The second-round draw for this season’s Carabao Cup takes place this evening, Monday August 10, 2026, in the build-up to the Devon derby between Plymouth and Exeter at Home Park. The draw is scheduled for around 7.20pm BST, with Sky Sports presenter David Prutton overseeing proceedings and former pros Jobi McAnuff and Jamie Mackie pulling out the ties.
Chelsea and Tottenham are among 11 Premier League clubs entering at this stage, joining the 35 winners from the first round. Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle, Everton, Leeds and Nottingham Forest are also in the hat, along with newly-promoted Coventry, Ipswich and Hull.
For all of them, this competition suddenly looks more important. With no European commitments, the fixture list opens up. There is space for a proper tilt at silverware.
The landscape at the top end is very different. Holders Manchester City, along with Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool, are all in the Champions League. Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace line up in the Europa League, while Brighton head into the Conference League. Those nine sides sit this round out and only join the Carabao Cup in the third round next month.
How to follow the draw
The draw will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra HDR. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream it via the Sky Go app.
For those wanting every twist and every ball number dissected, Standard Sport will run a live blog tracking the draw as it happens.
Who’s already through?
The first round has already cleared a path for some familiar names and a few lower-league hopefuls.
In the Northern Section, Wolves cruised past Port Vale 3-0, while Sheffield United swept aside Mansfield 3-0. Middlesbrough edged Wrexham 1-0, and Sheffield Wednesday did the same to Bolton. Burnley survived a scare against Notts County, squeezing through 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with Blackburn, Blackpool and West Brom also progressing.
West Ham, relegated from the Premier League last season and forced into the competition’s opening round, beat Portsmouth 3-1 in the Southern Section to book their place. Southampton advanced with a 2-0 win at Colchester, Norwich hit four past MK Dons, and Luton eased through 3-0 at Gillingham. Birmingham, Cardiff, Charlton and Watford are all in the second-round pot too.
Plymouth’s clash with Exeter completes the first-round schedule tonight, just before the draw is made.
It is worth remembering that the Carabao Cup remains regionalised for both the first and second rounds, split into Northern and Southern sections before the competition fully opens up from the third round onwards. That keeps the early travel lighter and ramps up the chance of local grudge matches.
When will the ties be played?
Second-round fixtures will be staged in the week commencing August 24, returning to the familiar midweek slot that has long defined this competition’s place in the calendar.
For Chelsea and Tottenham, that week will mark more than just another game. It will be an early test of whether last season’s disappointments have hardened them – and whether a domestic cup can become the first step in restoring their authority.
