The 2026-27 Carabao Cup has begun before the Football League season, with a large Saturday programme including West Ham against Portsmouth and Burnley against Notts County. The live coverage is focused on the 3pm BST kick-offs, underlining the competition’s early return and its mix of Premier League, Championship and lower-league clubs.

Three first-round matches were played on Friday: Wolves beat Port Vale 3-0, Stevenage won 2-1 away to Wycombe, and Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham. Cambridge United and Barnet were goalless at half-time in an earlier Saturday match, while the day’s schedule also includes fixtures such as QPR v Millwall, Swansea v Birmingham and Leicester v Northampton.