Norwich to face Birmingham City in Carabao Cup first round

Norwich City will play Birmingham City at Carrow Road in the first round of this season's Carabao Cup, with the game taking place on the week of August 10.

The Canaries will enter the competition, which comprises the football league's 92 clubs, a stage earlier than last season.

Some sides first play in the second round thanks to byes, but Norwich enter this season from the outset. The first two stages of the competition are regionalised into a North section and the South section which City are part of.

Norwich reached the third round last term, beating Bournemouth 6-0 before eventual champions Liverpool knocked them out.

The last time the Blues visited NR1 they left with nothing, after a late Mario Vrancic goal sealed three points in a tense Championship affair.

The Midlands side will be in the second division once again next season, meaning they'll face Dean Smith's charges at least three times during the 2022-23 campaign.

The draw comes on the EFL's fixture release day, during which Championship, League One and League Two schedules are also confirmed along with the draw for the EFL Trophy, which Norwich will not compete in next season.

Norwich travel to Cardiff City for their first competitive game of the footballing year, before welcoming Wigan Athletic to Carrow Road for their first home fixture.

Before then they have friendlies planned against Dereham Town, King's Lynn, Cambridge United, Celtic and Hibernian, with two further matches to be confirmed.

Reports have suggested that they'll visit France to play Marseille on July 16, with details of an open training session and a fixture on the Austrian/German border to be released in due course.