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Carabao Cup First Round Draw

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

MK Dons vs Charlton Athletic

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

 

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Embed from Getty Images

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