Clubs face Cup preliminary draw

Birmingham are the reigning Carling Cup holders Crawley Town and AFC Wimbledon will face each other in a Carling Cup preliminary round tie next month.

The Football League's two newest clubs will meet at Crawley's Broadfield Stadium on Friday, 29 July for a place in the first round proper.

The preliminary round is necessary as holders Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League.

But because of their Europa League commitments they will not start their Cup defence until round three.

The Carling Cup therefore requires one club fewer in the first round, so the two clubs placed lowest in the domestic league system last season will meet in the one-off game.

The draw for the first round takes place at 1000 BST on Thursday and will feature clubs from the Championship, League One and League Two.

The draw will be divided into North and South sections, with 17 northern pairings and 18 southern pairings.

GROUPINGS

NORTH

Seeded teams - Barnsley, Blackpool, Burnley, Carlisle, Coventry, Derby, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Preston, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Sheffield United.

Unseeded teams - Accrington, Bradford, Burton, Bury, Chesterfield, Crewe, Hartlepool, Macclesfield, Morecambe, Notts County, Oldham, Port Vale, Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday, Shrewsbury, Tranmere, Walsall.

SOUTH

Seeded teams - Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton, Bristol City, Cardiff, Colchester, Crystal Palace, Exeter, Ipswich, Leyton Orient, Millwall, MK Dons, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Watford, West Ham.

Unseeded teams - Aldershot, Barnet, Bristol Rovers, Charlton, Cheltenham, Crawley/AFC Wimbledon, Dagenham & Redbridge, Gillingham, Hereford, Northampton, Oxford, Plymouth, Southend, Stevenage, Swindon, Torquay, Wycombe, Yeovil.

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