MK Dons to face Norwich City in Carabao Cup First Round and Brentford academy in EFL Trophy

MK Dons will take on Championship side Norwich City in the First Round of the Carabao Cup, while a busy day of draws saw Brentford’s academy team added to their EFL Trophy group.

A busy day of announcements that saw the release of the EFL fixtures also saw two more draws, with the Dons finding out they will have games against the Canaries and the Bees’ junior team added as their 2026/27 schedule takes shape.

The Carabao Cup tie will serve as MK Dons’ season opener, with the match taking place on the weekend surrounding Saturday August 8th, one week before the Dons’ league opener away at Oxford United.

A specific date, kick-off time and ticketing information will be confirmed in due course.

Norwich finished 9th in the Championship last season, with the Canaries now preparing for a full season under the management of Philippe Clement after he replaced former Dons boss Liam Manning in November 2025.

This is the third time that the Dons have taken on Norwich in the competition, the most recent of which seeing the Dons pull off a shock 4-0 win in 2011. Prior meetings took place in 2005 and 2008, while the two teams also faced off in league action in the 2009/10 season.

MK Dons have been knocked out in the First Round of the Carabao Cup in each of the last 3 seasons, with last season’s interest ended immediately after a 2-0 defeat by Championship side Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

The Dons had previously been drawn against Bromley and Crawley Town in the EFL Trophy group stage, with tier group being Group H in the Southern Section of the competition.

The EFL Trophy group stage will begin in September, with specific dates for the three group stage matches to be confirmed in due course.