When is the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw? Date, time, ball numbers for 2025/26 competition

When is the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw? Date, time, ball numbers for 2025/26 competition originally appeared on The Sporting News

The third round of the 2025/26 Carabao Cup is played over a two-week period in September, with the remaining matches to be concluded this week.

This stage of the tournament is when Premier League teams competing in Europe enter the draw. That means we have heavyweights including Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all involved, while defending champions Newcastle United also begin their campaign.

The winners of these ties will progress to round four, which is played in October. The draw for those fixtures will be held at the conclusion of the third-round games this week.

Below are the details for when and where the draw for the fourth round will take place, and the provisional fixture dates.

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When is the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw?

The draw for the fourth round of the 2025/26 Carabao Cup takes place on Wednesday, September 24.

It is due to be carried out after Arsenal's match against Port Vale at Vale Park, so there is not yet a guaranteed start time, but it is expected to be at around 10:15 p.m. BST (5:15 p.m. ET / 2:45 a.m. IST / 7:15 a.m. AEST).

The draw will be conducted live on Sky Sports' UK broadcast of the Arsenal game.

Carabao Cup fourth-round ball numbers

Below are the ball numbers designated to each team (or third-round match) for the fourth-round draw.

1. Grimsby Town
2. Brentford
3. Crystal Palace
4. Swansea City
5. Brighton & Hove Albion
6. Cardiff City
7. Fulham
8. Chelsea
9. Wycombe Wanderers
10. Wolves
11. Wrexham
12. Liverpool
13. Huddersfield Town or Manchester City
14. Tottenham or Doncaster Rovers
15. Newcastle United or Bradford City
16. Port Vale or Arsenal

When are the Carabao Cup fourth-round games in 2025/26?

The ties will take place in the week beginning Monday, October 27.

Although the schedule is yet to be determined, it is likely the games will be played on Tuesday, October 28 and Wednesday, October 29.

MORE:Dates for all 2025/26 Carabao Cup matches, including the final

Carabao Cup 2025/26 round dates

The EFL Cup (Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons) features all 92 participating clubs from the top four tiers of English football: Premier League (20 clubs), Championship (24 clubs), League One (24), and League Two (24).

The Premier League clubs not involved in European cup competitions joined in the second round, and the remaining sides compete from the third round.

The draw for each round is usually held just before or during the final matchday of the previous round.

• First Round: Week commencing August 11, 2025
• Second Round: W/C August 25, 2025
• Third Round (Rd of 32): W/C September 15 and September 22, 2025
• Fourth Round (Rd of 16): W/C October 27, 2025
• Quarterfinals: W/C December 15, 2025
• Semifinals first legs: W/C January 12, 2026
• Semifinal second legs: W/C February 2, 2026
• Final: March 22, 2026