The Competitiveness of EFL Sides in Domestic Cups: A Growing Trend?

The Competitiveness of EFL Sides in Domestic Cups: A Growing Trend?

In the English domestic cups (FA Cup and Carabao Cup), there has long been a dominance by Premier League Clubs due to their exceptional amount of money they can spend on improving their team, creating a huge gap in quality between the top tier and below.

But there has been a recent trend that there might be a resurgence of EFL clubs overperforming in domestic cups. The question is why are they becoming more competitive and what evidence is there to suggest this?

Iconic Runs in Domestic Cups

There have been many iconic runs to domestic finals by EFL sides in historic memory that have been platforms for lower league sides to build upon.

Cardiff in the 2008 FA Cup Final

Cardiff were relatively lucky in their run to the 2008 FA Cup final, as they only faced off against one Premier League side, prior to playing Portsmouth in the final. This was Middlesbrough who they beat 2-0 in the 6th round. All other sides they beat on route to the final were Championship and below.

The Bluebirds were ultimately beaten in the final 1-0 against Premier League side Portsmouth, as Nigerian forward Nwankwo Kanu sealed the victory early on in the 37th minute.

FA Cup Final. 17 May 2008.
Cardiff City 0 v 1 Pompey
Att. 89,874#Pompey #Bluebirds pic.twitter.com/9W7ibbFQ8R

— Pompey Programmes (@PompeyProgramme) May 17, 2025

Bradford City in the 2013 League Cup Final

League Two Bradford shocked us all when they reached the 2013 League Cup final, as they defied the odds beating several teams who were leagues above them.

They did ride their luck at times however, beating two sides after extra time and two sides on penalties.

Unfortunately, their luck ran out on the final, as the Bantam's met Premier League side Swansea City at Wembley Stadium and were thrashed 5-0 thanks to goals from Nathan Dyer, Michu and Jonathan De Guzman.

TEFL Throwback 🔥⏮️

A true underdog story! ⚽️🔥

In 2013, Bradford City became the first fourth-tier side in 51 years to reach the League Cup final 🏆

They stunned premier league giants Arsenal on penalties in the quarters and edged Aston Villa 4-3 on aggregate in the semis!… pic.twitter.com/Mto5DfBeFj

— TotalEFL (@TotalEFL) December 10, 2024

Fairytales That Required Luck?

In the domestic cup final runs listed above, there was an element of luck needed for both sides. With penalties and extra time being needed for many ties, the finest of margins sent a club into the next round of the domestic cup.

These can be seen as rare occurrences, rather than regular events especially in 21st century football.

Recent Domestic Cup Upsets

There has been a growing number of domestic cup upsets recently, especially in the League Cup, with the 3rd round of the competition being played this week and next.

Grimsby Victorious Over Premier League Giants

In the second round of the Carabao Cup on 27th August, Grimsby edged Ruben Amorim's struggling Manchester United side 12-11 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time.

United fielded a strong side against the League Two outfit, including two of their summer signings- Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. They were 2-0 down at half time, but levelled up in the second half thanks to goals from Mbeumo and Maguire.

Grimsby battled valiantly, and objectively could be considered the better team for the majority of the tie. And they got their reward, as a hard fought penalty shootout saw Grimsby take a shocking win after Mbeumo hit the crossbar.

As with any side that defeats a time ranked three divisions above them, Grimsby caused a stir in the media which has since threatened Ruben Amorim's already precarious position as United manager.

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐁𝐘 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/Ls9ovQekHu

— 433 (@433) August 27, 2025

Swansea Come Back From Behind To Beat Postecoglou's Forest

Ange Postecoglou is still waiting for his first win as Nottingham Forest manager, as his debut game in charge saw them surrender a 2-0 lead in the second half yesterday night to late Swansea goals from Cameron Burgess and Zan Vipotnik.

These late goals exposed Forest's defensive frailties, while also piling ever more pressure onto owner Evangelos Marinakis and his latest managerial appointment in ex-Spurs coach Postecoglou.

Although this is not as shocking as Grimsby upsetting Manchester United, it certainly follows the trend of EFL sides beating higher league opposition in domestic cups.

Good morning, Swansea City fans! 👋

We thought you might want to start your Thursday by watching Cameron Burgess' winner from last night's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest! 🤩

𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙎! 🤪#Swanspic.twitter.com/6gH5kGKr4J

— The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24) September 18, 2025

Factors Influencing EFL Competitiveness

There are a number of factors that could be taken into account for the increased competitiveness that has been evident from EFL sides in domestic cups.

Premier League sides are much more inclined to field rotated starting XI's in domestic cups nowadays, due to the number of games they are required to play - this is particularly true for the bigger clubs, who also have European competition to consider.

The Premier League 'Big 6' also have greater profits year on year which allows them to have enough players to field multiple starting XI's. This means that upsets can occur more often.

More capital has been put into the overall football pyramid in the last few years, with grants from the FA filtering down the different league levels. This has allowed EFL clubs to invest into their coaching and infrastructure, which as a result has had a knock-on effect on overall lower league quality. This development has seen the chances of a domestic cup upset increase hugely.

Psychological reasons have also influenced lower league sides causing upsets to Premier League Sides. With the format of the domestic cups in England, there is an aspect of slates being wiped clean, with league records not being take into account. Consequentially, the underdog goes out with nothing to lose, often harnessing their fans energy to shock a more illustrious opponents.

Conclusion

There has been a clear trend of EFL sides being more competitive in domestic cups and this should continue throughout the rest of this season. Premier League sides have yet to play in the FA Cup, and many have not yet played in the League Cup, look out for many more upsets this campaign.