The 2024–25 EFL Cup was the 65th season of the English Football League Cup. It was sponsored by Carabao Energy Drink and known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons. The EFL Cup was open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League.
The winner of the competition qualified for the play-off round of the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League.
Liverpool were the defending champions, having beaten Chelsea in the previous season's final. They were beaten in this season's final by Newcastle United, who won their first EFL Cup and a first domestic trophy since the 1954–55 FA Cup.
Teams All 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League entered the season's EFL Cup. Access was distributed across the top 4 leagues of the English football league system.
In the first round, 22 of 24 Championship clubs, and all League One and League Two clubs entered.
The following round, the two remaining Championship clubs, who finished 18th and 19th in the 2023–24 Premier League season (Luton Town and Burnley), and the Premier League clubs not involved in either the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League entered.
Clubs entering in this roundClubs advancing from previous roundNumber of gamesMain dateFirst round(70 clubs) 24 clubs from EFL League Two 24 clubs from EFL League One 22 clubs from EFL Championship N/A35 13 August 2024Second round(50 clubs) 2 clubs from EFL Championship 13 Premier League clubs (not involved in European competitions) 35 winners from first round25 27 August 2024Third round(32 clubs) 7 Premier League clubs (involved in European competitions) 25 winners from second round16 17 September 2024 24 September 2024Fourth round(16 clubs) 16 winners from third round8 30 October 2024Quarter-finals(8 clubs) 8 winners from fourth round4 18 December 2024Semi-finals(4 clubs) 4 winners from quarter-finals4 (two-legged) 6 January 2025 3 February 2025Final(2 clubs) 2 winners from semi-finals1 16 March 2025
First round A total of 70 teams played in the first round: 24 from League Two (tier 4), 24 from League One (tier 3), and 22 from the Championship (tier 2). The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into "northern" and "southern" sections, where teams were drawn against a team from the same section. The draw was made on 27 June 2024 by Frank Sinclair and Gary McAllister.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Northern section
Southern section
Second round A total of 50 teams played in the second round: the 13 Premier League clubs not involved in European competitions and the two best-ranked EFL Championship clubs (Luton Town and Burnley) entered at this stage along with the 35 winners from the first round. The draw for this round was split on a geographical basis into "northern" and "southern" sections, where teams were drawn against a team from the same section. The draw was made on 14 August 2024 by Jermaine Beckford and Curtis Davies.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Northern section
Southern section
Third round A total of 32 teams played in the third round: the seven Premier League clubs involved in European competitions (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur) entered at this stage along with the 25 winners from the second round. The draw was made on 28 August 2024 by Michael Dawson and Les Ferdinand, where conditions were implemented to ensure clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League did not draw clubs participating in the UEFA Europa League due to fixture clashes.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Fourth round The 16 winners from the third round played in the fourth round. Championship sides Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw, which was made on 25 September 2024 by Jamie Redknapp and Kevin Nolan.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Quarter-finals The eight winners from the fourth round played in the quarter-finals. For the first time since the 2009–10 season, all eight remaining teams were Premier League sides. The draw was made on 30 October 2024 by Jamie Redknapp and Izzy Christiansen.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Semi-finals The four winners from the quarter-finals played in the semi-finals. The draw was made on 19 December 2024 by Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp.
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Newcastle United won 4–0 on aggregate.
Liverpool won 4–1 on aggregate.
Final
+ Number of teams per tier still in the competition Premier League Championship League One League Two Total
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals 1 Cody Gakpo Liverpool 5 2 Gabriel Jesus Arsenal 4 Tom Ince Watford 4 Simon Adingra Brighton & Hove Albion 3 Cameron Archer Southampton Eberechi Eze Crystal Palace Alejandro Garnacho Manchester United Gonçalo Guedes Wolverhampton Wanderers Ryan Graydon Fleetwood Town Alexander Isak Newcastle United Jean-Philippe Mateta Crystal Palace Christopher Nkunku Chelsea Ethan Nwaneri Arsenal Milutin Osmajić Preston North End
References