The Carabao Cup third round draw takes place this week with Newcastle entering the competition
A general view of the Carabao Cup Trophy.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham enter the Carabao Cup in the third round.
(Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.)
Newcastle United don't have too long to wait to discover who their defence of the Carabao Cup will kick off against, with the third round draw taking place this week.
The Magpies got their hands on the trophy back in March thanks to a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in what was a memorable day for the club. They will start their defence of the title next month.
Newcastle's involvement in Champions League football means that they enter the competition in the third round. It's a stage that Sunderland will also be hoping to get to with the Black Cats hosting League One side Huddersfield Town in the second round on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
Both teams will be aiming to progress as far as possible in this year's competition. However, similar to last year, there will be some alterations to the third round draw.
Here's everything you need to know.
When is the draw?
The Carabao Cup third round draw is scheduled for Wednesday, 27 August, 2025, following the conclusion of the second round match between Grimsby Town and Manchester United. The draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports around 10pm.
Changes to the draw rules.
Similar to last year, there will be some modifications to the third round draw due to the expansion of the European competitions. The schedule dictates that teams competing in Europe (with the exception of Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League) will not face each other in the third round.
Hence, two separate bowls will be utilised for the draw, with the eight European teams in one and the remaining 24 clubs in the other. A pre-draw will then occur to determine whether the European teams are playing at home or away.
That draw will be conducted live on Sky Sports prior to the match between Grimsby and Man United, with the main draw taking place after the game.
The first eight matches drawn will involve one of the European teams drawn against one of the teams from the other bowl. The remaining eight matches will then be drawn solely from bowl 2.
When will the third round matches take place?
The Carabao Cup third round fixtures will span over two weeks, with the initial batch played in the week commencing 15 September and the second in the week starting 22 September.
Will there be extra time in the third round?
No, similar to previous rounds of the Carabao Cup, the third round ties will proceed directly to penalties if the scores are level after 90 minutes, with no extra time being played.
There is also no VAR in use in the third round of the Carabao Cup.