Preston North End and Everton name XIs for Carabao Cup second-round tie at Deepdale

Preston North End and Everton have confirmed their starting lineups for the Carabao Cup second-round match at Deepdale on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. The squads were announced ahead of the evening fixture between the Championship side and the Premier League Toffees.

Everton enter the cup tie after a 2-0 opening-day Premier League victory over Crystal Palace in which Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry scored for David Moyes’ team, while Preston have lost their opening two Championship matches, 2-1 to Bolton Wanderers and 3-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The EFL Cup represents an opportunity for Everton amid a trophy drought of more than three decades; the club have progressed beyond the third round only three times in the last 11 years, whereas Preston have reached the third round seven times in that period.

Preston’s starting XI is Lee Nicholls; Pol Valentin, Jordan Storey, Lewis Gibson, Andrija Vukcevic; Jordan Thompson, Leo Leroy; Delano Burgzog, Andy Moran, Thierry Small; Jusef Erabi. Their bench is listed as Daniel Iversen (gk), Harry Clarke, Alfie Devine, George Gryba, Andrew Hughes, Callum Lang, Liam Lindsay, Ali McCann, Ed Nolan. The club posted the lineup on social media with the caption "📋 The North End XI for this evening. 👇#pnefc pic.twitter.com/BqIUyL6p1K".

Everton’s XI for the tie is Jordan Pickford; Merlin Rohl, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Vitaly Mykolenko; Harrison Armstrong, James Garner; Tyler Dibling, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Iliman Ndiaye; Thierno Barry. The Toffees named the following players on the bench: Mark Travers (gk), Charly Alcaraz, Adam Aznou, Beto, Harvey Foster, Tyrique Foster, Brennan Johnson, Jake O’Brien, Nathan Patterson. The club shared the selection on Twitter with the message "Tonight's Toffees to face @pnefc in the @Carabao_Cup! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/oS79tq1IuE".

The match is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, 2026, with kick‑off at 12:30 AM IST (Thursday, August 27). The fixture will be staged at Deepdale Stadium in Preston, England.

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This second-round Carabao Cup tie at Deepdale on August 26 will determine which side progresses to the next stage of the 2026-27 EFL Cup.