<Tr> <Td> ← 2016--17 </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> The 2017--18 EFL Cup is the 58th season of the EFL Cup . The competition is open to all 92 English and Welsh clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League . It is known as the Carabao Cup due to the start of a sponsorship deal with Carabao Energy Drinks after the tournament was unsponsored the previous year . The final will be held at Wembley Stadium in London . The reigning champions are Manchester United . The winners will qualify for the third qualifying round of the 2018--19 UEFA Europa League . </P> <P> All 92 clubs in the top four divisions of English football participate . In the first round, all the clubs in Football League Two and Football League One will enter alongside 22 of the 24 Football League Championship teams except for Hull City and Middlesbrough who received byes to the next round as the highest finishing teams relegated from the 2016 - 17 Premier League . In the second round, all Premier League clubs not involved in European competition enter . Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all received byes to the third round owing to their participation in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League . </P> <P> In June 2017, The Football League announced that the draw for the first round of the competition would be held in Bangkok, Thailand, as a result of their new sponsorship deal with Thai company Carabao . There were plans for the 2017--18 EFL Cup to trial video assistant referees during matches in their first use in England . However the plans were scrapped due to a delay and would instead be trialled in the 2017--18 FA Cup from the third round instead . </P>

When do the premier league teams enter the league cup