The second round draw for this year’s EFL Cup will take place on Thursday August 10.
The draw will take place live on Sky Sports on Thursday following the final first round tie between Bury and Sunderland.
13 Premier League clubs not competing in European competitions will enter at this stage, as will Hull City and Middlesbrough.
25 sides based on league placing will be seeded and for this round, if West Ham are drawn at home, owing to the 2017 IAAF World Championships, they have been given special dispensation by the EFL to play the fixture as an away game.
Ball numbers will be with us later today or tomorrow you would think and by the end of tonight’s action, five more sides through to the second round will be finalised.
Already through:
Accrington Stanley, Brentford, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers, Charlton Athletic, Carlisle United, MK Dons, Ipswich Town, Rochdale, Millwall, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Cheltenham Town, Barnet, Queens Park Rangers, Rotherham United, Scunthorpe United, Sheffield Wednesday, Newport County, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham, Reading.
This competition should be taken more seriously.In recent years managers make mass changes to their teams when playing for this Cup.Winning it gives entry into Europe via the Europa Cup as well as the prestige that goes with winning it.All too often it’s only at the latter stages that Premiership and Championship teams field a full strength team,that’s a pity when the competition offers such rewards.Sure it’s always played second fiddle to the FA Cup however it’s well worth winning…