He Chelsea will face the Arsenal or Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup semi-finals at the beginning of 2026, according to the official tournament draw. In the other key, the Manchester City They will face Newcastle United, current champions, in a series that will define one of the finalists heading to Wembley.
The draw took place after Newcastle United’s dramatic victory over Fulham in the quarter-finals, played at St James’ Park. The reigning champion sealed their pass to the next round with a goal in stoppage time from young youth squad Lewis Miley, a goal that unleashed euphoria at home and kept the title defense alive.
Chelsea were the first club to secure their place in the semi-finals, beating Cardiff City 3–1 on Tuesday. The London team had to work harder than expected to overcome the League One team, settling the match in the final minutes during their visit to South Wales.
A day later, Manchester City joined in, leading to a 2-0 victory over Brentford thanks to a spectacular goal from Rayan Cherki. The team led by Pep Guardiola was widely dominant and remembered its best times in this competition, which it won in four consecutive seasons between 2017-18 and 2020-21, although since then it has not managed to lift the trophy again.
Arsenal and Crystal Palace were also part of the draw, although they still have their quarter-final match pending. The duel, scheduled at the Emirates Stadium, was postponed until next week due to calendar adjustments.
As is the tradition of the Carabao Cup, the semi-finals will be played round-trip. The first legs will be played in January, while the second legs are scheduled for February, before the grand final in March.
Carabao Cup 2025–26 semi-final draw
Chelsea vs. Arsenal / Crystal Palace
El Newcastle United vs. el Manchester City
Carabao Cup 2025–26 round schedule
Preliminary round: August 4, 2025
First round: August 11, 2025
Second round: August 25, 2025
Third round: September 15 and 22, 2025
Fourth round: October 28, 2025
Quarterfinals: December 15, 2025
Semifinals: January 12 and February 2, 2026
Final: March 22, 2026
