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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
VAR is once again in use and will be used in any fixtures played at a Premier League stadium.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Two of League One’s promoted sides also go head to head as Rotherham United, promoted via the playoffs<\/a>, host title-winners Wigan Athletic.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Rotherham United vs Wigan Athletic<\/p>\n Tranmere Rovers vs Walsall<\/p>\n Crewe Alexandra vs Fleetwood Town<\/p>\n Scunthorpe United vs Doncaster Rovers<\/p>\n Macclesfield Town vs Bradford City<\/p>\n Grimsby Town vs Rochdale<\/p>\n Sheffield United vs Hull City<\/p>\n Nottingham Forest vs Bury<\/p>\n Middlesbrough vs Notts County<\/p>\n Sunderland vs Sheffield Wednesday<\/p>\n Leeds United vs Bolton Wanderers<\/p>\n Carlisle United vs Blackburn Rovers<\/p>\n Mansfield Town vs Accrington Stanley<\/p>\n Port Vale vs Lincoln City<\/p>\n Preston North End vs Morecambe<\/p>\n Oldham Athletic vs Derby County<\/p>\n Shrewsbury Town vs Burton Albion<\/p>\n Blackpool vs Barnsley<\/p>\n Millwall vs Gillingham<\/p>\n Portsmouth vs AFC Wimbledon<\/p>\n Cheltenham Town vs Colchester United<\/p>\n Yeovil Town vs Aston Villa<\/p>\n Southend United vs Brentford<\/p>\n Reading vs Birmingham City<\/p>\n Wycombe Wanderers vs Northampton Town<\/p>\n Swindon Town vs Forest Green Rovers<\/p>\n Exeter vs Ipswich Town<\/p>\nDraw In Full<\/h2>\n
Northern Section<\/h3>\n
Southern Section<\/h3>\n