The Carabao Cup returns for the 2026/27 season, offering fans a thrilling lineup of first-round matches available live on Sky Sports.

Action begins on Thursday with Bristol City hosting Walsall at Ashton Gate. This is followed by three more matches on Friday:

• Wolves vs. Port Vale
• Middlesbrough vs. Wrexham
• Stevenage at Wycombe

Saturday features the bulk of the first-round fixtures, starting with Cambridge United against Barnet at 1pm. Key matchups include:

• Burnley vs. Notts County
• West Ham vs. Portsmouth
• Leicester vs. Northampton Town

Other notable matches are Swansea meeting Birmingham City, Sheffield Wednesday hosting Bolton, and Norwich welcoming MK Dons. The day's action wraps up with Cheltenham against Charlton, Colchester facing Southampton, and Rotherham taking on West Brom, all kicking off at 5:30pm.

The first round continues on Sunday with Mansfield Town hosting Sheffield United at 4pm, followed by a Devon derby on Monday night as Plymouth Argyle takes on Exeter City.

Sky Sports customers can watch every match on the Sky Sports app or website, and stay updated with dedicated blogs throughout the weekend. The competition progresses with the second round scheduled for the week commencing August 24.

The nine Premier League teams competing in Europe will join the action in the third round, which begins the week of September 7. Keep an eye on the full schedule for all the exciting moments ahead!