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Bet on the Carabao Cup 2026/27 with Bitcoin
Bet on the Carabao Cup at Cloudbet, the world's leading bitcoin sportsbook and crypto casino.
The 2026-2027 Carabao Cup is the 67th season of the English Football League Cup, and it runs from early August through to the final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 21 March 2027. All 92 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League take part, which means Premier League giants and League Two sides land in the same draw — and that makes it one of the most rewarding competitions to bet on.
Manchester City arrive as defending champions after beating Arsenal 2-0 in last season's final, a 21-year-old left-back in Nico O'Reilly heading both goals in four second-half minutes in front of 88,486 at Wembley. It was Pep Guardiola's fifth League Cup, a record for any manager, and his last trophy before leaving the club.
What is the Carabao Cup?
The Carabao Cup is the English Football League Cup, first played in 1960 and open to every club in the top four tiers of English football. It is sponsored by Carabao Energy Drink, which is why the official EFL Cup name and the Carabao Cup name are used interchangeably — both refer to the same competition. It is the more exclusive of England's two domestic cups: the FA Cup is open to hundreds of clubs from across the football pyramid, while the Carabao Cup is restricted to the 92 professional sides.
Every tie is a single match at one club's ground until the semi-finals. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, there is no extra time: the tie goes straight to penalties. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with extra time and penalties if the aggregate score is level, and the final is a one-off match at Wembley.
Clubs enter at different stages depending on where they finished the previous season and whether they qualified for Europe. Sides from the Championship, League One and League Two all begin in Round One, while Premier League clubs join in Round Two or Round Three. For 2026-2027, a preliminary round was again required because nine Premier League clubs are in European competition. The winner of the Carabao Cup qualifies for the play-off round of the 2027-2028 UEFA Conference League, unless they have already reached Europe through another route.
Carabao Cup 2026-2027 key dates
| Round | Timing | Who enters |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Late July 2026 | York City, Rochdale, Tranmere Rovers, Crawley Town |
| Round One | 7-9 August 2026 | Two preliminary winners plus 68 EFL clubs, drawn in northern and southern sections |
| Round Two | Late August 2026 | 35 Round One winners plus the 11 Premier League clubs not in Europe |
| Round Three | September 2026 | 23 Round Two winners plus the nine Premier League clubs in Europe |
| Round Four | Late 2026 | The last 16 |
| Quarter-finals | December 2026 | The last eight |
| Semi-final first legs | Week of 11 January 2027 | Two legs, one at each ground |
| Semi-final second legs | Week of 1 February 2027 | Aggregate score decides |
| Final | Sunday 21 March 2027 | Wembley Stadium |
Round Three is split across two September weeks to ease the fixture load on clubs playing in Europe. Nine Premier League clubs enter at that stage: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool from the Champions League; Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace from the Europa League; and Brighton from the Conference League.
Who are the favorites for the Carabao Cup 2026-2027?
Manchester City defend a trophy they have now won nine times, one behind Liverpool's record of ten. But the Carabao Cup rewards squad depth more than league form, and the outright market shifts sharply once the third-round draw lands and the big clubs discover who they have drawn.
| Club | Titles | The case |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 10 | The competition's most successful club, and a side that has treated this cup seriously in recent years even while rotating heavily. |
| Manchester City | 9 | Holders, and now under Enzo Maresca. City have used the Carabao Cup to blood younger players and still won it — O'Reilly's brace in the final was the proof. |
| Manchester United | 6 | Under Michael Carrick and back in the Champions League after a third-place finish. A domestic cup remains the most realistic route to silverware. |
| Arsenal | 2 | Beaten finalists last season and now Premier League champions, but they have not won this competition since 1993. Arteta has taken Arsenal to Wembley repeatedly without landing it. |
| Aston Villa | 5 | Champions League football and a squad deep enough to compete on several fronts at once. |
The real value in this competition is rarely at the top. Premier League clubs in Europe do not enter until Round Three, ties go straight to penalties with no extra time, and every match before the semi-finals is a one-off at one ground. Lower-league sides get a single home game against a rotated Premier League team, which is exactly how upsets happen.
Getting started: How to bet on the Carabao Cup with bitcoin
Betting on the Carabao Cup with bitcoin is easy at Cloudbet. We offer competitive Carabao Cup odds across every round. Bet with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and more, along with stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
Just follow these steps:
- Sign into your Cloudbet account and fund your wallet with BTC (or any of the 30+ cryptocurrencies we support on the platform.)
- Head over to the 'Soccer' menu, select the Carabao Cup under the England section, and then choose the match you would like to bet on. The page covers ongoing and upcoming ties, as well as Carabao Cup outrights.
- Research teams, rotation and team news before placing a bet. Squad selection matters more in this competition than almost any other.
- Place your bitcoin bets and watch the action unfold!
What Carabao Cup odds and markets can you bet on with bitcoin?
Bet with bitcoin on a variety of Carabao Cup markets at Cloudbet. Our pre-game and live in-play markets include:
- Full-Time Result — predict the outcome after 90 minutes, with ties going straight to penalties before the semi-finals
- To Qualify — back a team to progress to the next round however the tie is settled
- Asian Handicap — level the playing field with goal handicaps for tighter odds
- Total Goals — bet over/under on how many goals are scored
- Both Teams To Score — back both sides to find the net, or bet against it
- Scorers — pick first, last, or anytime goalscorers from either squad
- Outright winner — back a club to lift the trophy at Wembley
- Specials — unique markets including cards, penalties, and more
What to consider when betting on the Carabao Cup
Cup football does not behave like league football, and the differences are where the value sits.
- Rotation is the biggest factor: Premier League managers routinely change eight or nine players in the early rounds. Check confirmed line-ups rather than league form.
- No extra time before the semi-finals: level after 90 minutes means penalties, which makes draw-no-bet and to-qualify markets behave differently than in other competitions.
- Home advantage counts double: a single-leg tie at a lower-league ground removes the away-leg safety net entirely.
- Fixture congestion: clubs in Europe enter at Round Three with a Champions League or Europa League schedule already underway. Priorities show in team sheets.
- Two-legged semi-finals: the only stage where aggregate scoring applies, and where the first-leg result reshapes the second-leg market.
Why use bitcoin to bet on the Carabao Cup?
Here are some of the key benefits of betting on Carabao Cup matches with bitcoin on Cloudbet:
- Fast payouts: Withdraw your winnings almost instantly with no hassle and no withdrawal admin fees.
- Better odds: Bitcoin betting sites often offer better odds than traditional bookies.
- Global reach: Bitcoin has no borders, so you can follow English cup football from anywhere.
- Anonymity: No need to provide personal info to sign up and bet on soccer matches.
- Transparency: Crypto users can see where their funds go on blockchain networks.
- 24/7 access: The bitcoin network never sleeps, so you can bet anytime. Plus, Cloudbet offers 24/7 multilingual support through Live Chat.
Back your Carabao Cup picks today and make the most of Cloudbet's Welcome Package, worth up to $2,500.