EFL Cup PREVIEW 26 Aug 2026: EFL Cup Round Two: Newcastle, Spurs, Bradford and Preston in Action

Newcastle United, holders of the trophy from last season, host West Bromwich Albion at St James' Park in the second round. Matthias Jaissle takes charge of his first cup tie since succeeding Eddie Howe, and it comes sandwiched between Premier League fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham. Newcastle's league campaign opened with a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time penalty rescuing a point for the visitors at St James' Park. West Brom, under James Morrison, arrive full of confidence: a 2-1 win at Norwich on the opening weekend was followed by a 3-1 home victory over Burnley, and they reached this round by beating Rotherham United 4-1 away.

Tottenham Hotspur host Charlton Athletic at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the first meeting between the two since January 2011. Spurs have the stronger all-time record, with 24 wins from 45 meetings to Charlton's 12 and nine draws. Roberto De Zerbi's side need a response after a chastening 3-0 opening-day defeat at Brentford, a result that left the Italian saying his expensively assembled squad is "not a team yet." Charlton, managed by Nathan Jones, arrive unbeaten so far this season, having opened the Championship with a 2-1 win over West Ham before beating Cheltenham Town 3-1 in the first round of this competition.

Bradford City host Burnley at the second-round stage, the first competitive meeting between the two since 2004. Graham Alexander's Bradford have made an unbeaten start to life in League One, following up a 2-0 first-round win over Rochdale with league wins over Peterborough United and Sheffield Wednesday without conceding. Burnley, under new manager Nicky Hayen, have had a much tougher time back in the Championship: a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham was followed by a 1-3 defeat away to West Brom, and they only reached this round via a penalty shootout win over Notts County. Hayen has been focused on rebuilding the connection with supporters, saying of the away following expected at Bradford: "We really want the fans to be able to identify themselves with us."

Preston North End host Everton at Deepdale, with David Moyes returning to a club he played for in the 1990s and later managed, guiding them to promotion in 2000. Paul Heckingbottom's Preston needed penalties to see off Huddersfield Town in the first round, coming from behind despite a red card for captain Lewis Gibson before Jusef Erabi's stoppage-time equaliser forced the shootout. Since then Preston have lost their opening two Championship matches, going down 1-2 to Bolton Wanderers before being well beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Everton opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace, Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scoring the goals.