Thu Jun 04, 2026 8:54 am
The draw for the Preliminary Round of the 2026/27 Carabao Cup has now been confirmed, with the ties as follows:
York City v Crawley Town
Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale
Why is a Preliminary Round required?
The Preliminary Round draw for next season’s Carabao Cup included four Clubs – Tranmere Rovers, Crawley Town, York City and Rochdale – and was required due to the participation of nine Premier League Clubs in European competition next season. This was confirmed following Crystal Palace’s victory in the UEFA Europa Conference League Final last week.
With the Premier League teams competing in Europe entering the Carabao Cup at Round Three, a Preliminary Round is required to ensure that a total of 32 teams are in the pot at that stage – the nine Clubs in European competition, and 23 winners from Round Two.
Last season’s Carabao Cup also required a preliminary round, however due to the more obvious north-south split of the four Clubs, no draw was required. For this season’s preliminary round, the four teams were randomly drawn.
The winner of the Preliminary Round tie between York City v Crawley Town will proceed to the Southern section of the Round One draw, with the winner of Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale proceeding into the Northern section. The regionalised sections of the draw will be re-adjusted ahead of Round Two of the competition.
This is because the Northern and Southern sections of the Round One draw need to be confirmed ahead of that draw taking place on Thursday 25 June, which is also fixture release day.