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.
when do the premier league teams enter the league cup
second round