Newport County will have to enter the Carabao Cup at a new preliminary round stage this season with a tie against newly promoted Barnet, venue tbc.
The format of the Carabao Cup has been amended by the EFL due to nine Premier League teams being involved in European competition in 2025-26.
It means a new four-team preliminary qualifying round to reduce the number of clubs in round one and two in order to accommodate all Premier League European clubs in round three.
The preliminary round will consist of the two promoted clubs from the National League (Barnet and Oldham Athletic) and the clubs finishing in 21st and 22nd place in League Two (Accrington Stanley and Newport County). The ties will be regionalised north and south as per round one, with Accrington playing Oldham and Newport playing Barnet.
The Carabao Cup round one draw will take place live on Sky Sports News at 4:30pm on Thursday, June 26, as part of the EFL’s Fixture Release Day.
The preliminary round of the competition will also be drawn at this time to determine the home clubs for the two ties.
Carabao Cup 2025-26 round dates
Preliminary Round: w/c 4 August 2025
Round One: w/c 11 August 2025
Round Two: w/c 25 August 2025
Round Three: w/c 15 September and w/c 22 September 2025*
Round Four: w/c 27 October 2025
Round Five: w/c 15 December 2025
Semi-Final First Leg: w/c 12 January 2026
Semi-Final Second Leg: w/c 2 February 2026
Final: Sunday 22 March 2026