 Wembley Stadium will host the final. | |||||||
| Event | 2025–26 EFL Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 22 March 2026 (2026-03-22) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
←2025 2027 → | |||||||
The2026 EFL Cup final will be the final match of the2025–26 EFL Cup. The match will take place on 22 March 2026 atWembley Stadium inLondon, England,[1] betweenrivalsArsenal andManchester City.[2] The clubs have met in the2018 EFL Cup final as well as the2014 and2023 FA Community Shields.
This will be Arsenal's ninth League Cup final, the first EFL Cup final since losing to City in2018, and the first appearance in any final since the2020 FA Cup final. They are seeking their first major trophy since winning the2019–20 FA Cup and a first League Cup title since the1992–93 edition.
This will be Manchester City's tenth League Cup final and the first EFL Cup final since their most recent win in2021 to secure their eighth overall and joint-record fourth consecutive title. They are looking for their first major cup competition title since winning the2023-24 Premier League.[a]
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Port Vale (A) | 2–0 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 2–0 |
| QF | Crystal Palace (H) | 1–1(8–7p) |
| SF | Chelsea (A) | 3–2 |
| Chelsea (H) | 1–0 | |
| Key: (H) = Home; (A) = Away | ||
As a Premier League club involved inUEFA competitions, Arsenal entered in the third round and were drawn away toEFL League One clubPort Vale. AtVale Park, on 24 September 2025, Arsenal won 2–0 with goals fromEberechi Eze – his first goal for the club – andLeandro Trossard.[3] In the fourth round Arsenal were drawn at home to fellowPremier League clubBrighton & Hove Albion. At theEmirates Stadium on 29 October 2025, Arsenal won 2–0 again with goals for the Gunners fromEthan Nwaneri andBukayo Saka which sent the Gunners through to the quarter-finals.[4] In the quarter-finals Arsenal were drawn against another Premier League club inCrystal Palace. At the Emirates Stadium on 23 December 2025, Arsenal drew 1–1 with anown goal fromMaxence Lacroix being equalised byMarc Guéhi. As the game finished level after regulation time, it went straight to apenalty shoot-out which Arsenal won 8–7 withMartin Ødegaard,Declan Rice, Saka, Trossard,Mikel Merino,Riccardo Calafiori,Jurriën Timber andWilliam Saliba all scoring their spot-kicks for the Gunners andJean-Philippe Mateta,Justin Devenny,Will Hughes,Borna Sosa,Jefferson Lerma,Adam Wharton andChristantus Uche all converted their penalty kicks; Lacroix missed the decisive penalty kick to send Arsenal through to the semi-finals.[5] In the semi-finals Arsenal were drawn against another fellowPremier League club andrivalsChelsea over two legs. Arsenal won the first leg 3–2 atStamford Bridge on 14 January 2026 with two goals for Chelsea fromAlejandro Garnacho and goals for Arsenal fromBen White,Viktor Gyökeres andMartín Zubimendi.[6][7] Arsenal won the second leg 1–0 at the Emirates Stadium on 3 February 2026 with a goal from former Chelsea playerKai Havertz to give Arsenal a 4–2 aggregate victory and send them through to the final.[8]
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Huddersfield Town (A) | 2–0 |
| 4 | Swansea City (A) | 3–1 |
| QF | Brentford (H) | 2–0 |
| SF | Newcastle United (A) | 2–0 |
| Newcastle United (H) | 3–1 | |
| Key: (H) = Home; (A) = Away | ||
As a Premier League club involved in UEFA competitions, Manchester City entered in the third round and were drawn away to EFL League One clubHuddersfield Town. AtKirklees Stadium, on 24 September 2025, Manchester City won 2–0 with goals fromPhil Foden andSavinho.[9] In the fourth round, they were drawn away toEFL Championship sideSwansea City, played away atSwansea.com Stadium on 29 October 2025. The match finished 3–1 for the visitors, withGonçalo Franco opening the scoring for Swansea City before three goals fromJérémy Doku,Omar Marmoush andRayan Cherki for Manchester City.[10] In the quarter-finals, City were drawn at home to fellow Premier League sideBrentford, where they won 2–0 atCity of Manchester Stadium on 17 December 2025 with goals from Cherki and Savinho.[11] In the two-legged semi-final, City were drawn againstcup holdersNewcastle United, with the first leg played atSt James' Park on 13 January 2026. City won 2–0 courtesy of freshly-signedAntoine Semenyo and Cherki.[12] The second leg was played on 4 February, with Manchester City winning 3–1. Marmoush scored twice andTijjani Reijnders scored once beforeAnthony Elanga picked up a consolation goal for Newcastle, giving Manchester City a 5–1 aggregate victory and sending them to the final.[13]
This will see Arsenal play in their first major cup final since the2020 FA Cup final, which they won againstLondon rivalsChelsea, and seek their second trophy under the management of former Arsenal playerMikel Arteta. This final is a repeat of the2018 EFL Cup final, whenArsène Wenger's Arsenal lost 3–0 to City, with Arteta asPep Guardiola's assistant manager. Both Arsenal and Manchester City could still win thequadruple of theEFL Cup, theFA Cup, theUEFA Champions League and thePremier League, which would be the first time an English team has achieved such a feat.
The clubs have beenrivals since 2008, and competed for the Premier League title in the2022–23 and2023–24 seasons, with City winning on both occasions.
Match rules
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