West Ham United booked their place in the stage of the competition thanks to a 3-1 home win against Championship rivals Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.
The Carabao Cup continues with the first Premier League representatives entering the competition at the second-round stage. Chelsea and Tottenham are among those in the hat as the top-flight teams not playing European football this season join those to have progressed through the first round.
The Blues are the headline act entering the fold after their failure to qualify for Europe last term, with Xabi Alonso hoping to set the tone in his bid for debut-season silverware. Tottenham and Chelsea have both avoided the Carabao Cup second round for the last two seasons but were both in that stage of the competition during the 2023/24 campaign. While Spurs lost on penalties to Fulham, the Blues beat AFC Wimbledon and went on to reach the final at Wembley only to be beaten by Liverpool.
Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos scored twice in an emphatic comeback win as West Ham beat Portsmouth 3-1 in front of the largest-ever crowd at a Carabao Cup first-round match. The Argentine’s brace helped get the Hammers’ season off to a winning start and propelled them through to the second round, two months after suffering Premier League relegation.