The 2020/21 season dates across the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and the EFL Trophy have been confirmed.
The Carabao Cup will officially kick-off the EFL season with an action-packed month of cup football to follow throughout September.
City's 2020/21 Sky Bet League Two fixtures will be announced at 9.00am on Friday August 21.
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 September 5, 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 on September 15/16.
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 round one will take place on Sky Sports News on Tuesday 18 August 2020, with the time to be confirmed.
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
As previously advised, league competition in the Sky Bet EFL will kick-off on Saturday September 12, 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 August 21 at 9.00am.
EFL Trophy
The EFL Trophy will officially get underway in matchday one during week commencing September 7, 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 One - 8/9 September 2020 (alternative dates may apply)
- Matchday Two - 6/7 October 2020
- Matchday Three - 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
- Chelsea
- Leicester City
- Manchester United
- Southampton
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Aston Villa
- Fulham
- Liverpool
- Newcastle United
- West Bromwich Albion
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Leeds United
- Manchester City
-Norwich City (EFL)
-West Ham United
The group stage draw for the EFL Trophy will take place on Tuesday August 18 at 1.30pm on TalkSPORT 2.
Broadcasting plans for the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy will be confirmed in due course.