Chelsea and Tottenham Enter Carabao Cup Early

Chelsea and Tottenham will step back into the Carabao Cup spotlight tonight — but far earlier than either London giant ever planned.

Tenth and 17th in last season’s Premier League table means no European football, no autumn trips abroad, and a stark reminder of how far both have slipped. It also means the pair now share something usually reserved for the rest of the pack: a second‑round entrance into English football’s secondary cup competition.

Not that the stakes feel secondary.

Early start for fallen heavyweights

While Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa sit back and wait for the third round as Champions League participants, and Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Brighton prepare for Europa League and Conference League campaigns, Chelsea and Spurs are thrown straight into the domestic grind.

They are joined in the second round by nine other Premier League sides: Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle, Everton, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, plus newly-promoted Coventry, Ipswich and Hull. Eleven top-flight clubs, 35 first-round survivors, and the sense that one bad night in late August can turn into an early-season crisis.

The three clubs relegated from the Premier League last term — West Ham, Burnley and Wolves — have already been pitched into the first round, a reminder of how ruthless the drop can be. There are no shortcuts back to the top.

Draw night in Devon

The road to Wembley pauses in Devon this evening. The second-round draw will be held at Home Park, in the build-up to the Devon derby between Plymouth and Exeter, with proceedings scheduled to start at around 7.20pm BST.

Sky Sports presenter David Prutton will host, with Jobi McAnuff and Jamie Mackie tasked with pulling out the ties that could define the early narrative of the season. A tricky away trip for a Premier League side to a lower-league ground. A derby. A reunion with an old manager. All of it is in play.

For Chelsea and Tottenham, the draw is more than a formality. It is a marker. An awkward away tie on a tight pitch, under the lights, and the pressure cranks up quickly for clubs already under scrutiny after underwhelming league finishes.

The Carabao Cup remains regionalised for both first and second rounds, split into northern and southern sections before the competition opens up later on. That keeps the London clubs closer to home for now, but not necessarily comfortable.

First-round survivors ready to pounce

Plenty of lower-league sides have already fought through tense opening nights to earn their shot at a Premier League scalp.

In the Northern Section, Wolves brushed aside Port Vale 3-0, Sheffield United cruised past Mansfield 3-0, and Middlesbrough edged Wrexham 1-0. West Brom hit four at Rotherham, while Blackpool, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday all moved through. Several ties went the distance: Barnsley beat Wigan on penalties, Doncaster did the same at Stockport, and Burnley squeezed past Notts County in a shoot-out.

Further south, Walsall stunned Bristol City 1-0, Luton swept past Gillingham 3-0, and Norwich put four past MK Dons. Southampton progressed with a 2-0 win at Colchester, Leicester edged Northampton 1-0, and West Ham handled Portsmouth 3-1. QPR against Millwall went to penalties, with Millwall holding their nerve, while Reading, AFC Wimbledon and others also advanced from spot-kick dramas.

Plymouth vs Exeter completes the first-round slate tonight, with the Devon derby doubling as the final ticket into the hat.

Ball numbers for the second round will be confirmed once that last tie is done, but the real intrigue lies in which of those hungry underdogs lands a glamour date with Chelsea, Tottenham or one of the other Premier League entrants.

Broadcast, build-up and what comes next

The draw will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra HDR, with Sky Go carrying the live stream for subscribers. For those glued to every twist, Standard Sport will run a live blog as the ties come out.

Second-round matches are scheduled for the week commencing August 24, back in the familiar midweek slot that has long belonged to the League Cup. By then, Premier League campaigns will be up and running, squads will be stretched, and managers will start to juggle rotation with the need to build momentum.

For Manchester City, still holders of the trophy, the defence does not begin until the third round. For Chelsea and Tottenham, the journey starts now — earlier than they wanted, earlier than they expected, and with far less margin for error than either club can comfortably afford.