With English football coming back very soon after almost no break at all, it will look very different to the game we all know and love. With very few fans – if any – allowed back in stadiums it will be a new experience to many people. The Carabao Cup is one of the first competitions to get back up and running and even the most accurate football predictions wouldn’t have been able to foresee how the draw was going to pan out. Take a look at the full draw as well as a few games we think will be the ties of the round.

Full Draw

The draw will see all of the EFL teams playing, apart from relegated sides Watford and Bournemouth who will be put straight into the draw for the second round. This means that there will be 35 fixtures to play and the first round is also regionalised. The new-look cup will see the semi-finals reduced to just a single leg.

Here’s the full draw with all 70 teams making up the 35 games.

Southern section

Bristol City v Exeter City

Plymouth Argyle v Queens Park Rangers

Swindon Town v Charlton Athletic

Forest Green Rovers v Leyton Orient

Milton Keynes Dons v Coventry City

Crawley Town v Millwall

Stevenage v Portsmouth

Peterborough United v Cheltenham Town

Brentford v Wycombe Wanderers

Northampton Town v Cardiff City

Luton Town v Norwich City

Birmingham City v Cambridge United

Newport County v Swansea City

Oxford United v AFC Wimbledon

Reading v Colchester United

Gillingham v Southend United

Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers

Northern section

Tranmere Rovers v Harrogate Town

Crewe Alexandra v Lincoln City

Walsall v Sheffield Wednesday

Rochdale v Huddersfield Town

Preston North End v Mansfield Town

Bolton Wanderers v Bradford City

Blackburn Rovers v Doncaster Rovers

Stoke City v Blackpool

Fleetwood Town v Wigan Athletic

Grimsby Town v Morecambe

Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury Town

Derby County v Barrow

Scunthorpe United v Port Vale

Sunderland v Hull City

Burton Albion v Accrington Stanley

Salford City v Rotherham United

Barnsley v Nottingham Forest

Oldham Athletic v Carlisle United

Games to Watch

There are a number of ties that have caught our eye so far. With reasons varying between local derbies and just interesting stories, here are what we think will be the ties of the round.

Fleetwood Town v Wigan Athletic

This might not seem like a big game to a lot of people, but the story of Wigan is something that has caught the attention of the country. With the news of the new owner enquiring about administration before he had even bought the club and manager Paul Cook resigning after news of the club’s relegation was made concrete, Wigan are without a doubt a club in turmoil.

Fleetwood on the other hand are a club that can be seen as the model for most lower league clubs to follow. Known for employing forward-thinking managers and using strategic planning to get the most from their resources, Fleetwood have become a mainstay in League One over the last six years. This is a game that would have been seen as a David and Goliath matchup not too long ago, but this season it will be a much more interesting proposition.

Bolton Wanderers v Bradford City

Bradford and Bolton played against each other in the Football League Trophy last season. The game finished 1-1 with Bradford winning 4-3 on penalties. The game between the two clubs will be the first time they have been in the same competition as each other since the 2016/17 season. Both games that season also ended up in draws. This might not be the greatest backdrop for a game that will be scintillating.

However, Bolton are a club in freefall. This is the first season Bolton have played in the bottom tier of the football pyramid since 1987/88. Since proclaiming themselves at least 10 years ahead of Burnley when Owen Coyle moved between the clubs, the two Lancashire sides have firmly swapped places in the intervening years.

This game between Bolton and Bradford could be a marking point for how the season will go for Bolton. Will they be able to launch an assault on promotion or will they be consigned to another season of struggle and potentially another relegation?

A Welcome return

Whatever happens in the first round of the cup, it’s safe to say that most people are looking forward to the return of football. The Carabao Cup might not be the big event it used to be, but it’s still a great tournament that has the potential for some exciting upsets.