Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy draws ahead of Russell Martin’s Leicester City bow | OneFootball

Russell Martin’s first competitive game as Leicester City head coach will be set on Thursday with the Carabao Cup first round draw. League One fixtures are released at 12pm the same day, but City’s curtain raiser will be a cup tie.

According to LeicesterMercury.co.uk, the draw will be shown live on Sky Sports News at half past four on Thursday 25 June as part of the EFL’s Fixture Release Day. First round ties are set for seven-nine August, with the league starting a week later. Kevin Nolan and Luke Chambers will conduct the draw.

Round One features 70 clubs, including City and the two Preliminary Round winners, with the draw split into Northern and Southern sections. Tranmere host Rochdale on one August, then Crawley visit York on three August, with a preliminary round required as nine Premier League clubs are in Europe in 2026/27.

Leicester are ball No. 14. The York City or Crawley Town winners are ball No. 36.

The schedule continues, Round Two w/c 24 August, Round Three w/c seven and 14 September, Round Four w/c 26 October, Round Five w/c 14 December. Semi-finals are w/c eleven January and w/c one February, with the final on Sunday 21 March 2027.

City will also compete in the EFL Trophy for only the second time. They are in Group B with Walsall and Stevenage, plus one Premier League Under-21 side to be drawn at two pm on Thursday.

Possible Under-21 opponents are Arsenal, Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur. Group matches start in early September, then Round of 32 w/c seven December, Round of 16 w/c eleven January, Quarter Finals w/c 15 February, Semi Finals w/c eight March, and the final on Sunday 11 April.

Source: LeicesterMercury.co.uk