Which teams will progress in the Carabao Cup fourth round

The 2025/2026 Carabao Cup is one of the competitions that every top club in England wants to win.

Since Pep Guardiola arrived in England, the tournament has taken on a new significance as the top sides now strive to win it.

Last season, Liverpool enjoyed a fine run in it, even though they could have focused on the Premier League and Champions League.

Newcastle United eventually beat them in the final and won the tournament, celebrating as though they had won the Premier League.

Manchester City finished last term without a single trophy in the bag, and they certainly would have loved to have won the Carabao Cup.

To show how serious teams are about the tournament now, there are 11 Premier League teams in the current round of the tournament, and there will likely be more EPL sides in it in the next round as well.

Arsenal has built a dream squad for Mikel Arteta, and he will want to win the  Carabao Cup if his team falls short in their bid to win the Premier League title.

Liverpool could do better than last term and become Carabao Cup champions, while Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham could also be the teams that sell more Carabao Cup tickets from this round of the competition.

In this article, we preview the fourth round matches and predict the team that will advance to the next round of the competition.

Arsenal v Brighton

Arsenal has been drawn against one of the teams that causes them a lot of problems whenever they meet, Brighton.

The Seagulls have developed into one of the teams that know how to hurt the top sides, and they need some trophies as soon as possible.

Arsenal could not beat Brighton over two legs in the Premier League last season, with both matches ending in a draw.

The Gunners have one of the best squads in Europe now and most people believe this is the year that the Gunners will win a major trophy.

Brighton has been on a fine run of form on their visit to Arsenal in recent times, with three wins from the last five matches at the Emirates. Can they win this game as well?

Grimsby Town v Brentford

Can Brentford end Grimsby Town’s fairytale run in the Carabao Cup this season? That is a question most people will be asking as both clubs have been drawn in the fourth round of the competition.

The Bees are under a new manager after Tottenham made Thomas Frank their boss in the summer. 

There have been other changes to their playing squad as well, and they would like to mark this season by winning the Carabao Cup.

Town eliminated Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday in the last two rounds of the competition and now wants to be a League Two representative in the quarterfinals.

Swansea City v Manchester City

Having not won any trophy in the Premier League last season, Manchester City would be happy to win the Carabao Cup, which will be the first trophy on offer for Premier League teams this term.

Their next opponent in the competition is Swansea City, and the Welsh side will be eager to make a statement in the game.

City is one of the teams we expect to go far, and they have been in great form since they lost to Brighton in the Premier League.

Swansea has a fine squad that is keen to gain promotion back to the Premier League; however, City has won nine and lost none of the last ten matches between them.

With the Citizens rebuilding their squad since January to become the top English club again, they cannot afford not to win this game.

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur

Two teams that sell several Premier League tickets meet in this round of the competition, and Newcastle wants to retain the trophy.

Winning it last season ended several decades of hurt as they finally won a trophy and will now focus on the next phase of their development.

They have reached the final of the tournament twice in three years, so they seem to have fallen in love with it and would want to maintain that run.

With Thomas Frank as their manager, Spurs will be keen to win a trophy in back-to-back seasons after their Europa League success last term, so they need to win this game.

Wrexham v Cardiff City

There are three Welsh clubs in this round of the Carabao Cup, and as many fans would have loved it, we have a Welsh derby.

Wrexham has raced through the divisions in the last few seasons, but they have found life to be really tough in the Championship so far.

They might spend more than a season there before gaining promotion to the Premier League, but they will want to make an impression in the Carabao Cup.

Cardiff City is their opponent in this round of the competition, and this will be an interesting Welsh derby.

The last time these teams met was in League One in 2002, and Cardiff won both fixtures that season.

Wrexham has won just one of the last four matches between them, but after two decades, are they now the better team?

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

Liverpool’s Galactico squad has been beaten twice by Crystal Palace this season, as the Eagles beat them in the Community Shield and also became the first team to beat them in the Premier League this season.

Oliver Glasner is now the manager that Arne Slot should fear the most, and many neutrals will buy the tickets for this game because another upset could be on the cards.

Palace has now lost just one of their last five matches against Liverpool and they have won two of those games. Will they also eliminate the Reds from the Carabao Cup?

Wolves v Chelsea

Chelsea and Wolves will hand us another all-Premier League game in this round of the competition and it will be tough for the Blues.

Despite being one of the clubs we tipped to win the EPL title this season, Chelsea is having a hard time at this start of the campaign.

Enzo Maresca’s place as their manager is under serious threat and Wolves could make things worse for him.

His team now has to continue winning trophies and there is no Conference League for them to win this term.

Wolves have started the season poorly, but they have a superb squad and a very good manager, so there is a fine chance that they might be in better shape when both teams meet.

Wycombe Wanderers v Fulham

Fulham gets an easier draw as they face Wycombe in this round of the competition and the Cottagers will likely make progress.

Marco Silva has made them a stable Premier League team and deserves so much credit for the amazing job he has done for them so far.

The last two meetings between these clubs was in the EFL Cup in 2015 and 2017, with Fulham winning both games.

The Cottagers could win again, but they cannot underestimate their opponents.