Northampton to play Southampton in Carabao Cup and set to face Walsall, Shrewsbury and Chelsea U21s in EFL Trophy

Northampton Town will be playing Southampton in the Carabao Cup First Round, while they will also have EFL Trophy group games against Walsall, Shrewsbury Town and Chelsea U21s.

A big day of EFL fixture announcements yesterday (26/06) saw fixtures for the new EFL Championship, League One and League Two seasons announced as well as the First Round draw for the Carabao Cup and the group stage draw for the Vertu Trophy.

The Cobblers’ entry into the Carabao Cup will see them welcome Southampton to Sixfields, with the tie taking place in the week beginning August 11th. A specific date will be announced in due course.

The match will be Northampton’s first competitive meeting with Southampton since 2009, when they played one another in the Second Round of the FA Cup.

Northampton last beat Southampton in a competitive match in 1964, when they recorded a 2-0 win in a match played in the equivalent of what is now the Championship.

Southampton will be playing in the Championship next season, having finished bottom of last season’s Premier League. The game will be one of the Saints’ first under new boss Will Still, after the former Lens manager was confirmed as Southampton manager in May.

Meanwhile, the EFL Trophy paired the Chelsea under-21 team into Northampton’s group.

A pre-draw the day before had seen Northampton allocated a group with two League Two sides, with the Cobblers facing Walsall and Shrewsbury Town in their Southern Section group.

Games in the competition will begin in September, with a specific sequence and dates to be announced in due course.