The Carabao Cup First Round draw was made this morning in the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh. 70 of the 72 EFL clubs were part of the draw to determine the fixtures for the first knockout games of the 2018/19 season. The draw threw up some eye-catching ties, such as Yeovil Town vs Aston Villa and Sunderland vs Sheffield Wednesday.
Carabao Cup Draw
Competition Changes
As has been done in previous years, the teams were split into Northern and Southern sections for this round. This is to somewhat decrease the amount of mid-week travelling that EFL clubs have to do throughout the season.
However, the seeding system has been removed for the first time. This means that higher-ranked teams can play each other as early as the first round, perhaps giving a chance for ‘smaller’ teams to make it further in the competition.
Extra time has also been removed from this season’s competition, apart from in the final. Games that are level at the end of normal time will go straight to a penalty shoot-out. Additionally, penalty shoot-outs have been reverted to the old format after the trial of the ABBA system in last year’s competition.
VAR is once again in use and will be used in any fixtures played at a Premier League stadium.
Interesting Fixtures
Perhaps the standout fixture in the list is Sunderland hosting Sheffield Wednesday. Sunderland’s fall from grace has been well documented over the last couple of years, and to have two big clubs drawn against each other so early in the competition can only serve as a confidence boost for other clubs to take the competition seriously.
Two of League One’s promoted sides also go head to head as Rotherham United, promoted via the playoffs, host title-winners Wigan Athletic.
In the southern section, Aston Villa, who fell at the final hurdle in the Championship playoffs, travel south to Yeovil Town. West Brom, relegated from the Premier League last season, host League Two runners-up Luton Town.
Draw In Full
Northern Section
Rotherham United vs Wigan Athletic
Tranmere Rovers vs Walsall
Crewe Alexandra vs Fleetwood Town
Scunthorpe United vs Doncaster Rovers
Macclesfield Town vs Bradford City
Grimsby Town vs Rochdale
Sheffield United vs Hull City
Nottingham Forest vs Bury
Middlesbrough vs Notts County
Sunderland vs Sheffield Wednesday
Leeds United vs Bolton Wanderers
Carlisle United vs Blackburn Rovers
Mansfield Town vs Accrington Stanley
Port Vale vs Lincoln City
Preston North End vs Morecambe
Oldham Athletic vs Derby County
Shrewsbury Town vs Burton Albion
Blackpool vs Barnsley
Southern Section
Millwall vs Gillingham
Portsmouth vs AFC Wimbledon
Cheltenham Town vs Colchester United
Yeovil Town vs Aston Villa
Southend United vs Brentford
Reading vs Birmingham City
Wycombe Wanderers vs Northampton Town
Swindon Town vs Forest Green Rovers
Exeter vs Ipswich Town
West Bromwich Albion vs Luton Town
Bristol Rovers vs Crawley Town
Bristol City vs Plymouth Argyle
Cambridge United vs Newport County
Queens Park Rangers vs Peterborough United
Oxford United vs Coventry City
Main Photo
