The 2026/27 Carabao Cup is underway, beginning another race to Wembley as clubs across English football compete for the first major domestic knockout trophy of the season.
The competition began with Bristol City hosting Walsall at Ashton Gate on Thursday, 6 August, where Walsall produced an early upset with a 1–0 victory. Aaron Pressley’s 47th-minute goal eliminated the Championship side.
Attention now turns to the rest of the first round and, ultimately, one major question: who will win the 2026/27 Carabao Cup?
Manchester City enter the competition as defending champions and will attempt to retain the trophy, while Liverpool remain the most successful club in League Cup history with 10 titles.
For bettors, the tournament presents a different challenge from the Premier League. Rotation, one-off knockout matches and the staggered entry of Premier League clubs can all influence the Carabao Cup betting picture.
Carabao Cup 2026/27 Gets Underway
The first round is being staged across the opening weekend of August, a change from the competition’s traditional early-season midweek schedule.
The EFL lists Round One for the weekend of 7–9 August, with Round Two taking place in the week commencing 24 August. Round Three will be split across the weeks beginning 7 and 14 September.
Premier League clubs not competing in Europe enter during the second round, while clubs involved in European competitions enter in Round Three.
That means many of the leading outright contenders will not appear immediately.
The tournament then progresses through four more rounds before the semi-finals in January and February.
The 2027 Carabao Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, 21 March 2027.
Liverpool Remain the Most Successful EFL Cup Club
The supplied graphic highlights the history behind the competition, with Liverpool sitting at the top with 10 League Cup trophies.
Manchester City are shown second with nine following their latest success, while Manchester United sit third with six.
The graphic’s top 10 is:
| Rank | Club | EFL Cup titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 9 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 6 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 5 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 5 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 4 |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 4 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 3 |
| 9 | Birmingham City | 2 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 2 |
Liverpool’s record is particularly significant.
The Reds won their 10th League Cup in 2024, giving them the outright record at the time. Manchester City, however, have now moved to within one trophy of Liverpool according to the supplied 2026/27 graphic.
That creates another storyline for the new campaign: can City draw level with Liverpool’s record?
Manchester City Chasing Carabao Cup History
Manchester City will have two objectives when they enter the competition.
The first is defending their trophy.
The second is potentially drawing level with Liverpool as the most successful club in League Cup history.
City’s nine titles in the supplied graphic leave them just one behind Liverpool’s 10.
Their recent history in the competition also makes them impossible to ignore when considering potential winners.
But the Carabao Cup can present particular challenges for elite clubs. Managers frequently rotate their squads during the earlier rounds, particularly when fixtures clash with Champions League and Premier League commitments.
That means team news can be particularly important when assessing City — or any European participant — on a match-by-match basis.
Can Liverpool Win an 11th League Cup?
Liverpool have another opportunity to extend their record.
An 11th trophy would restore a two-title advantage over Manchester City and reinforce their position as the competition’s most successful club.
Their 2024 victory remains relatively recent, and Liverpool’s history in the tournament makes them another team likely to attract interest in the Carabao Cup outright winner market.
History, however, should provide context rather than determine a betting decision.
Current squad strength, the draw, injuries, fixture congestion and team selection will ultimately matter more than the number of trophies won in previous decades.
Arsenal Still Searching for Their Third League Cup
One of the more surprising statistics in the supplied graphic concerns Arsenal.
Despite their long history of domestic success, Arsenal have won the League Cup only twice, with their most recent triumph listed as 1993.
That leaves them behind several Premier League rivals.
Manchester United have six titles, Chelsea and Aston Villa have five each, while Tottenham have four.
For Arsenal, therefore, the 2026/27 tournament represents another opportunity to end a wait of more than three decades for League Cup success.
Whether they prioritise the competition once European and Premier League fixtures begin will be an important consideration for bettors.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Among Teams to Watch
The historic rankings also highlight several other potential contenders.
Manchester United are third in the all-time standings with six trophies, while Chelsea have five.
Tottenham’s four titles make them another historically successful League Cup side, although their last triumph shown in the graphic came in 2008.
Aston Villa also have five.
Those records demonstrate why the competition should not automatically be viewed as a two-team contest between Liverpool and Manchester City.
The knockout format creates opportunities — particularly when stronger clubs rotate.
Betting Angle: How to Approach Carabao Cup Betting
The Carabao Cup betting market requires a slightly different approach from betting on a 38-match Premier League campaign.
An outright bet depends on a team’s ability to navigate a knockout tournament where the draw can dramatically alter the path to Wembley.
Carabao Cup Outright Winner
Manchester City and Liverpool naturally merit attention because of their squad quality and competition history.
But price matters.
Backing the shortest-priced favourite simply because they possess the strongest squad does not automatically represent value.
The draw becomes increasingly important as the tournament progresses. A contender handed home matches against lower-division opposition may have a considerably different route from a rival facing consecutive Premier League teams.
For that reason, bettors can reassess the outright market after each draw rather than feeling compelled to make a selection before the major clubs enter.
Watch Team News Before Match Betting
Squad rotation is one of the biggest variables in Carabao Cup betting.
Premier League managers may use early rounds to give minutes to academy players, new signings and squad players.
A club’s reputation can consequently be misleading if its starting XI is significantly weaker than the team normally fielded in league matches.
Waiting for confirmed line-ups can provide valuable additional information before assessing markets such as match result, goals or qualification.
Lower-League Upsets Can Change the Market
Bristol City’s elimination has already provided an example of the competition’s unpredictability.
Walsall entered Ashton Gate as the lower-ranked side but emerged with a 1–0 victory.
It is a useful reminder that divisional status alone does not decide knockout matches.
Motivation, rotation, home advantage and the strength of the actual starting XI can all affect the probability of an upset.
Goals and Both Teams to Score Markets
Match-result betting is not the only option.
Depending on the fixture, bettors may also assess over/under goals, both teams to score and player goalscorer markets.
However, the same team-selection issue applies.
A side’s normal league scoring numbers may be less relevant when several first-choice attackers are rested.
Who Could Win the 2026/27 Carabao Cup?
Manchester City begin as the defending champions, while Liverpool enter another campaign as the competition’s historical benchmark.
Behind them, clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa could all have ambitions of reaching Wembley.
But the Carabao Cup’s knockout format means identifying the eventual champion in August is difficult.
The first-round result at Ashton Gate has already demonstrated that.
Walsall’s victory over Bristol City delivered an immediate upset before most of England’s biggest clubs had even entered the tournament.
The EFL Cup may not have the marathon format of the Premier League, but that is precisely what makes it fascinating.
One poor night can end a contender’s campaign.
One favourable draw can open a route to Wembley.
And when the final arrives on 21 March 2027, Liverpool could have an 11th trophy, Manchester City could have drawn level on 10 — or another club could have rewritten the League Cup record books entirely.
