How to watch the EFL Cup & EFL Trophy on TV

Jonathan Victoria • 04 Aug 2026 Guides

A new season means a new chance for silverware…

How to watch the EFL Cup & EFL Trophy on TV

Last updated: 04/08/2026

The 2026/27 EFL season is ready to get going and it’s all kicking off with the first round of the EFL Cup, better known as the Carabao Cup.

Teams from the Championship, League One and League Two are set to get the action underway, with the Premier League sides coming not too long after.

With football returning, you’ll want to know how you can watch all that’s to come across England’s top leagues, including where to catch the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy on TV this season.

EFL Cup & EFL Trophy on TV

The EFL and subsequent EFL competitions, including the EFL Cup and Trophy, are shown exclusively on Sky Sports, and for the third straight season, fans will be treated to almost all the action live across Sky Sports channels and streaming.

You’ll be able to watch every round of the EFL Cup and Trophy this season live plus a lot of games from the league seasons for the second, third and fourth tier of football.

In total, there will be over 1000 games to enjoy!

All this is achieved thanks to Sky Sports+, which is both a standalone channel and also part of the Sky Sports streaming hub, providing more streams to watch even more sports.

Sky Sports+

As mentioned, Sky Sports+ delivers over 1000 games broadcast live across the three leagues, and also includes all 93 EFL Cup games and 127 EFL Trophy (Bristol Street Motors Trophy) fixtures.

Sky Sports+ is available for free for all Sky Sports subscribers. All you need to do is purchase a relevant Sky Sports package or add Sky Sports to your existing package if you don’t already have it. Once you have done so, you’ll have access to the app's plethora of streams.

EFL Cup

The EFL Cup, better known as the Carabao Cup, has been contested every year since 1960, running as a secondary domestic competition, with lesser importance than the FA Cup but still holds some weight.

In previous years, many teams and managers specifically wouldn’t pay much mind to the EFL Cup. But it has seen a resurgence in recent times in terms of importance, most notably after Manchester City became the first team to achieve the domestic treble (Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup).

That has now become the goal for many teams aiming for as much silverware as possible, with Liverpool going for the unprecedented quadruple in the 2021/22 season (they ended up walking away from the season with just a domestic double, FA Cup and EFL Cup).

Each round of the EFL Cup is single-legged, with any tied games at full time going straight to a penalty shootout to determine a victor. The only exception to this is the semi-final, which features two legs.

EFL Cup fixtures: Round One

The first round of the competition begins shortly before the new EFL season begins, with only the EFL teams included.

The majority of Premier League teams are introduced in the second round, with the exception of sides who are involved in European competitions during the season. Those sides enter in the third round.

With that, let’s take a look at the EFL Cup round one fixtures, which have begun this week:

Thursday 6th August

Bristol City vs Walsall | 7:45pm | Sky Sports+

Friday 7th August

Wolves vs Port Vale | 7:45pm | Sky Sports+
Wycombe Wanderers vs Stevenage | 7:45pm | Sky Sports+
Middlesbrough vs Wrexham | 8pm | Sky Sports Main Event & Football

Saturday 8th August

Cambridge United vs Barnet | 1pm | Sky Sports+
QPR vs Millwall | 2pm | Sky Sports+
AFC Wimbledon vs Newport County | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Barnsley vs Wigan Athletic | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Bradford City vs Rochdale | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Bristol Rovers vs Peterborough United | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Bromley vs Reading | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Burnley vs Notts County | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Burton Albion vs Blackburn Rovers | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Cardiff City vs Swindon Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Crewe Alexandra vs Accrington Stanley | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Derby County vs Lincoln City | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Fleetwood Town vs Chesterfield | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Gillingham vs Luton Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Grimsby Town vs Blackpool | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Leicester City vs Northampton Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Leyton Orient vs Oxford United | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Norwich City vs MK Dons | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Preston North End vs Huddersfield Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Salford City vs Shrewsbury Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Sheffield Wednesday vs Bolton Wanderers | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Stockport County vs Doncaster Rovers | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Stoke City vs Oldham Athletic | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Swansea City vs Birmingham City | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Watford vs Crawley Town | 3pm | Sky Sports+
West Ham United vs Portsmouth | 3pm | Sky Sports+
Cheltenham Town vs Charlton Athletic | 5:30pm | Sky Sports+
Colchester United vs Southampton | 5:30pm | Sky Sports Main Event & Football
Rotherham United vs West Brom | 5:30pm | Sky Sports+

Sunday 9th August

Mansfield Town vs Sheffield United | 4pm | Sky Sports Main Event & Football

Monday 10th August

Plymouth Argyle vs Exeter City | 8pm | Sky Sports Main Event & Football

EFL Cup draw: Round Two

The EFL Cup round two draw will take place after the conclusion of the final game of round one, which in this case is Leeds United vs Middlesbrough on 14th August.

Round 2 will introduce 11 Premier League clubs, with the remaining nine teams coming a round later thanks to their participation in European competitions.

EFL Cup round dates & final

Round One: Weekend of 7th-9th August 2026

Round Two: W/C Monday 24th August 2026

Round Three: W/C Monday 7th & Monday 14th September 2026

Round Four: W/C Monday 26th October 2026

Round Five: W/C Monday 14th December

Semi-final:

First leg - W/C Monday 11th January 2027
Second leg - W/C Monday 1st February 2027

Final: Sunday 21st March 2027

EFL Trophy

The EFL Trophy, currently known as the Vertu Trophy, is a competition for teams in the third and fourth tier of English football (League One and League Two) plus 16 under-21 teams from Premier League clubs with Category One Academies.

It was launched in 1981 as a good chance for the lower league clubs to claim silverware, given that the chance of them achieving FA Cup or EFL Cup glory is rather slim.

The EFL Trophy’s format differs from that of the FA Cup and EFL Cup in that it isn’t simply single-leg rounds, but instead starts with a league system.

Round One, or the group stage, consists of 16 groups of four teams, with the groups divided between northern and southern sections depending on the teams’ location.

There are only three games in the group stage so each team plays the other in the group just once. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams will advance to the knockout stage, where the competition then becomes a single-leg elimination match including in the semi-finals.

EFL Trophy groups

Northern section

Group A

Sheffield Wednesday (L1)
Salford City (L2)
Accrington Stanley (L2)
Sunderland U21

Group B

Blackpool (L1)
Wigan Athletic (L1)
Crewe Alexandra (L2)
Aston Villa U21

Group C

Bradford City (L1)
York City (L2)
Rotherham United (L2)
Newcastle United U21

Group D

Mansfield Town (L1)
Chesterfield (L2)
Port Vale (L2)
Manchester City U21

Group E

Stockport County (L1)
Tranmere Rovers (L2)
Shrewsbury Town (L2)
Everton U21

Group F

Burton Albion (L1)
Notts County (L1)
Grimsby Town (L2)
Nottingham Forest U21

Group G

Barnsley (L1)
Oldham Athletic (L2)
Fleetwood Town (L2)
Leeds United U21

Group H

Huddersfield Town (L1)
Doncaster Rovers (L1)
Rochdale (L2)
Liverpool U21

Southern section

Group A

Oxford United (L1)
Cheltenham Town (L2)
Exeter City (L2)
Tottenham Hotspur U21

Group B

Leicester City (L1)
Walsall (L2)
Stevenage (L1)
Fulham U21

Group C

Reading (L1)
Bristol Rovers (L2)
Wycombe Wanderers (L1)
Chelsea U21

Group D

Luton Town (L1)
Peterborough United (L1)
Colchester United (L2)
Ipswich Town U21

Group E

Plymouth Argyle (L1)
Swindon Town (L2)
Newport County (L2)
Crystal Palace U21

Group F

AFC Wimbledon (L1)
Leyton Orient (L1)
Barnet (L2)
Arsenal U21

Group G

Cambridge United (L1)
Gillingham (L2)
Northampton Town (L2)
Brighton U21

Group H

Bromley (L1)
Crawley Town (L2)
MK Dons (L1)
Brentford U21

EFL Trophy draw: Knockout round

Once the group stage is complete and the top two from each group is determined, the competition advances to the single-leg knockout stages.

The teams remain regionalised until the semi-final, where it will then become two games of northern vs southern so that the final will also feature a north vs south matchup.

The first knockout stage, also known as Round Two or the Round of 32, will see the group winners play the runners up of a different group.

It is entirely done by a draw, with the group winners being seeded while the runners up are not. Teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage will also be kept apart so as to not meet again at this stage.