Roundup of the first round of the 2026-27 Carabao Cup as EFL teams entered the competition.
Having moved from its traditional mid-week slot to a weekend round ahead of the league campaigns commencing, this opening round saw plenty of surprises as teams transitioned from pre-season to competitive action.
Northern Section
Will Lankshear’s volley on debut saw Middlesbrough scrape past Wrexham in a closely-fought 1-0 win at the Riverside Stadium.
First-half goals from Ben House and Dom Jefferies saw Lincoln City claim a shock 2-1 win away at Derby, despite Sammie Szmodics’ consolatory effort for the Rams in first-half injury time.
First-half goals from Adam Armstrong, Andre and Fer Lopez saw Wolves cruise to a 3-0 victory over Port Vale at Molineux.
Misses from Emile Acquah and Jacob Bedeau saw Notts County lose 4-3 on penalties at Burnley following a 1-1 draw, which saw Callum Roberts initially put the Magpies in front before Zian Flemming equalised for the Clarets.
Late goals from Andri Gudjohnsen and Jayden Fevrier saw Blackburn avoid a cupset with a 2-1 comeback win at Burton Albion, after Zac Scutt put the Brewers into a 14th-minute lead.
Preston recovered from Lewis Gibson’s first-half red card to defeat Huddersfield 4-3 on penalties following a comeback 1-1 draw, after Jusef Erabi cancelled out Radinio Balker’s opener.
Jamal Lowe chipped in a 70th-minute winner as League One’s Sheffield Wednesday stunned Bolton 1-0 at Hillsborough, as the visiting Trotters finished a man down following Xavier Simons’ red card for a punch on Harry Gray.
Jon Mellish’s penalty miss saw Barnsley defeat Wigan 6-5 on penalties to complete a comeback win after a 1-1 draw, in which Cameron McGeehan’s late effort rescued the Tykes after Dara Costelloe put the Latics into a half-time lead.
Will Swan and Aden Baldwin found the net as Bradford clinically dispatched Rochdale 2-0 at home, after the latter had beaten Tranmere in the Preliminary Round to set up this tie.
Luca Moore’s finish saw Crewe Alexandra beat Accrington Stanley 2-1 at Mornflake Stadium, having initially led through Jack Lankester’s seventh-minute penalty before Farrend Rawson dragged the visitors level in the 65th minute.
Ched Evans’ 14th-minute winner saw Fleetwood Town scrape past Chesterfield at Highbury in front of just 1,619 fans.
Niall Ennis, Josh Bowler and new signing – Kylian Kouassi fired Blackpool to a comfortable 3-1 victory at Grimsby, despite Harvey Rodgers’ injury-time consolatory effort for the Mariners.
Salford missed five penalties in a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Shrewsbury at home, having fought back through Kyrell Malcolm for a 1-1 draw after Josh Davison fired the Salops in front.
Doncaster edged past Stockport 5-4 on penalties away at Edgeley Park after Alfie May initially put the visitors in front in the 50th minute, before Kyle Wootton equalised a minute later for the hosts.
Oliver Norburn’s own-goal and Robert Bozenik’s finish saw Stoke cruise to a 2-0 victory over Oldham at BET365 Stadium.
Jimmy-Jay Morgan’s brace and goals from Harry Whitwell plus Felix Horn Myhre saw West Brom comfortably avoid a cupset at League Two’s Rotherham in a ruthless 4-1 win, as Fabio Tavares snatched a late consolatory goal for the Millers.
Patrick Bamford, Mark McGuiness and Callum O’Hare fired Sheffield United past Mansfield in a clinical 3-0 win at Field Mill.
Southern Section
Aaron Pressley’s 47th-minute strike saw League Two’s Walsall stun Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate in the Robins’ first competitive match under Michael Skubala.
Cyle Larin and Romeo Akachukwu’s second-half goals saw Southampton clinically beat Colchester in a 2-0 away win, although manager – Tonda Eckert is still under a FA investigation in relation to spying incidents last season.
Jack Moylan netted a 77th-minute winner for Cardiff on debut in a 3-2 victory over Swindon, having initially fell behind through Gabriel Osho’s own-goal before Yousef Salech’s brace put them in front prior to a 62nd-minute equaliser from Paul Glatzel but Swindon’s James Debayo was red carded following two yellow-card bookings.
Matty Godden, Sonny Carey and Tyreece Campbell found the net as Charlton produced a ruthless first-half display to defeat Cheltenham 3-1 at Whaddon Road, despite George Miller’s 55th-minute consolatory goal for the hosts.
Valentin Castellanos’ brace and Jarrod Bowen’s finish saw West Ham claim a 3-1 comeback win at home to Portsmouth, after Adrian Segecic smashed the visitors into a 33rd-minute lead.
Marc Bola’s 99th-minute long-range winner saw Watford scrape past Crawley at Vicarage Road, with the latter having beaten York City 2-0 in the Preliminary Round to book their spot in this tie.
Mohamed Toure, Anis Ben Slimane, Ben Chrisene and debutant – Andre Brooks fired Norwich to a ruthless 4-1 home victory over MK Dons at Carrow Road, amidst Ryan Wintle’s 56th-minute consolatory volley for the visitors.
Ethon Archer’s saved penalty saw Reading snatch a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Bromley at the CopperJax Stadium, having seen Josh Stoke’s opener cancelled out by Michael Cheek on the latter’s return to competitive action after five months out with a hamstring injury.
August Priske’s 44th-minute close-range finish saw Birmingham City snatch a 1-0 victory in a fiercely-fought contest at Swansea.
Caleb Okoli’s 15th-minute header saw Leicester scrape a 1-0 win at home to Northampton Town.
Late goals from Demetri Mitchell and Idris El Mizouni saw Leyton Orient edge past Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.
Nakhi Wells, Benny Benagr and Gideon Kodua found the net as Luton eased to a routine 3-0 victory at Gillingham.
Harry Leonard’s 19th-minute penalty proved enough for Peterborough to scrape a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers.
Matt Smith’s saved penalty saw Newport lose 5-4 on penalties at AFC Wimbledon following a 1-1 draw, as Yahya Bamba’s opener for the Exiles was cancelled out by a late equaliser from Callum Maycock on the 97th-minute volley.
Millwall beat QPR 2-0 on penalties at Loftus Road in an embarrassing shootout in which the Hoops missed their four penalties, having seen Mark Sykes’ own-goal gift them a 1-1 draw following Luke Cundle’s 53rd-minute tap-in from Pierce Charles’ fumble.
Quick-fire goals from Ben Knight and Isaac Heath saw Cambridge United clinch a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Barnet, after Kabongo Tshimanga had initially put Barnet in front.
Josh Magennis’ 95th-minute header saw Stevenage win 2-1 at Wycombe Wanderers after Dan Kemp’s strike was cancelled out by an equaliser from the Chairboys’ Ewan Henderson.
Injury-time goals from Alex Hartridge and Bim Pepple saw Plymouth beat ten-men Exeter City 2-0 in a Devon derby at Home Park, only after the Grecians’ loanee – Ethan Sutherland was red carded in the 87th minute.
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