Manchester City may be the defending champions, but their place in the next stage is not yet secure. The fourth-round draw for the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will be made on Wednesday, 16 September, once Manchester United and Brighton have finished their third-round tie at Old Trafford.
When and where to follow the draw
The draw follows the conclusion of that match, which kicks off at 20:00 BST. Sky Sports will show the draw live, so viewers in the UK can watch the ball numbers come out as soon as the action on the pitch is over.
Although the draw is tied to the United-Brighton fixture, it will not be the last third-round match to be played. Manchester City’s home game against Norwich City is the final fixture of the round and takes place on Thursday, 17 September.
How the third round has unfolded
The third round began on Tuesday, 8 September and stretches across two weeks. By the time the draw is made, 16 teams will have booked their places in the next stage. The round includes clubs from the Premier League and from lower divisions, which is why the draw can produce a mix of top-flight heavyweights and lower-league sides.
At least 11 Premier League teams will be in the hat. Two of the ties played on Wednesday are all-Premier League affairs, meaning at least two top-flight clubs will definitely go through from those matches.
Several clubs have already exited the competition. Nottingham Forest, Hull City, Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur are all out, so they will not feature in the fourth-round draw.
Ball numbers and conditional ties
Ball numbers are allocated to each club and to the possible winners of ties that have not yet been completed. That means some numbers represent a pairing rather than a single team. The conditional entries include Coventry City or Aston Villa, Everton or Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fleetwood Town or Sheffield United, Manchester United or Brighton and Hove Albion, and Manchester City or Norwich City.
Those conditional numbers will be replaced by the actual club once the relevant third-round match is decided. The draw is therefore made with a mix of confirmed teams and placeholders, which is standard practice when the draw is held before every tie has finished.
What happens after the draw
Fourth-round fixtures are scheduled to start in the week beginning Monday, 26 October. The exact dates and kick-off times will be confirmed once the draw has been made and broadcasters have selected their matches.
For now, the focus is on the remaining third-round ties and the draw that follows the United-Brighton match. With Manchester City still to play their third-round fixture, the defending champions could yet join the list of teams in the fourth round — or they could be absent from it.
