EFL confirm season dates for new season

The 2020/21 season dates across the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and the EFL Trophy have been confirmed, with the Carabao Cup officially kicking off the EFL season with an action-packed month of cup football to follow throughout September.
The dates are out for the new EFL season. Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty ImagesThe dates are out for the new EFL season. Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
The dates are out for the new EFL season. Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Carabao Cup

The 2020/21 competition has seen a number of significant scheduling changes with two legged semi-finals being replaced by a single tie and the first four rounds scheduled to take place on consecutive weeks, kicking off in early September.

Round One fixtures are scheduled to take place on Saturday 5 September, but due to the international window may be played on alternative dates. Rounds Two, Three and Four will be played on consecutive midweeks dates starting 15/16 September.

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Premier League sides will enter the competition in Round Two or Round Three if they are competing in European competition in season 2020/21.

The Draw for the Round One will take place on Sky Sports News on Tuesday 18 August 2020, time TBC.

As per the previous two seasons, the Round One draw will be divided into a northern and southern section but will remain unseeded.

The dates for the 2020/21 Carabao Cup are as follows:

Round One

5 September 2020 (alternative dates may apply)

Round Two

15/16 September 2020

Round Three

22/23 September 2020

Round Four

29/30 September 2020

Round Five

22/23 December 2020

Semi-Finals

5/6 January 2021 (tie to be played at the venue of Club drawn out first)

Final

28 February 2021

Sky Bet EFL

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As previously advised, League competition in the Sky Bet EFL will kick-off on Saturday 12 September, while the regular seasons in the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two will conclude on 8/9 May 2021.

Due to the unprecedented challenges facing the fixture calendar as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and starting six weeks later than usual, the Sky Bet EFL Championship will feature 13 midweek match rounds whilst League One and League Two will have 11 respectively throughout season 2020/21.

The season will culminate in the Sky Bet Play-Off Finals taking place at Wembley Stadium over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend 29-31 May 2021.

The 2020/21 Sky Bet EFL fixture schedule will also be released on Friday 21 August at 9am.

EFL Trophy

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The EFL Trophy will officially get underway in Matchday One during week commencing 7 September, and culminating at Wembley Stadium for the Final on Sunday 14 March 2021.

The competition format remains unchanged, however, the title sponsorship with Leasing.com has come to an end so the competition will revert back to the EFL Trophy.

The dates for the 2020/21 EFL Trophy are as follows:

Matchday 1

8/9 September 2020

Matchday 2

6/7 October 2020

Matchday 3

10/11 November 2020

Round of 32

8/9 December 2020

Round of 16

12/13 January 2021

Quarter-Finals

2/3 February 2021

Semi-Finals

16/17 February 2021

Final

14 March 2021

Category One Invited Clubs taking part in the 2020/21 EFL Trophy competition have now been confirmed and are as follows:

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Brighton & Hove Albion

Chelsea

Fulham

Leeds United

Leicester City

Liverpool

Manchester City

Manchester United

Newcastle United

Norwich City (EFL)

Southampton

West Bromwich Albion

West Ham United

Wolverhampton Wanderers

The Group Stage draw for the EFL Trophy will take place on Tuesday 18 August at 1.30pm on TalkSPORT 2.

Broadcasting plans for the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy will be confirmed in due course.

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