Why is there a preliminary round in the EFL Cup?

The 2026/27 Football League season will commence with a preliminary round for the EFL Cup.

It's the second consecutive season that a preliminary round has been required for the competition and will feature four teams from League Two: Tranmere Rovers, Crawley Town, York City and Rochdale.

Why is there a preliminary round in the 2026/27 EFL Cup?

A preliminary round is required for the 2026/27 EFL Cup due to the participation of nine Premier League sides in European competitions next season.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool will all feature in the UEFA Champions League, while the Premier League has three representatives in the Europa League: Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace. After finishing eighth, Brighton will compete in the Conference League.

Clubs that are competing in Europe do not enter the EFL Cup until the third round, which means a preliminary round must take place to ensure that the total numbers of teams in the pot at that stage of the competition is 32 (the nine aforementioned Premier League teams and 23 winners from the second round).

The first round will include the two winners from the preliminary round and the remaining 68 EFL clubs. The 35 winners from that round will then be joined by the 11 Premier League teams not in European competition in the second round.

Participating in the preliminary round are the two clubs that finished 21st and 22nd in last season's League Two table - Tranmere and Crawley - along with the two clubs that won promotion from the National League last season - York and Rochdale.

Due to the first and second rounds of the EFL Cup being regionalised, the winners of each tie in the preliminary round will be divided into the northern and southern sections.

The winner of York's fixture against Crawley will be entered into the southern section of the first round draw, while the winner of Tranmere v Rochdale will proceed into the northern section.

EFL Cup preliminary round draw

• York City v Crawley Town
• Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale

Ties are expected to take place during the weekend of 1st/2nd August.