It's time to get up for the cup

Round one started last night, and it kicked off with an upset. Lee Grant’s Walsall travelled to face Bristol City having not scored a goal all pre-season, they won though, of course.

Thirty-five ties follow, commencing tonight going all the way through until Monday.

Middlesbrough vs Wrexham is the highlight act and has been handed the ITV1 slot tonight. This was matchweek 46 for these two sides last year, as they played out a 2-2 draw at the Racecourse Ground. Plenty has happened since both on and off the pitch, particularly for Boro, but they will both be looking to use this tie as a springboard to kick-start a promotion push.

The feistiest tie isn’t really a question. The Devon derby may be taking a hiatus when it comes to league football, but we will still get our fix this season as Plymouth and Exeter face each other in cup action. This fixture won’t be about progressing into the next round or preparing for the league season, it’ll be a grudge match that both sides are desperate to win at all costs.

In the other notable ties, Sheffield Wednesday host Bolton, two sides that have swapped divisions and surely have eyes on the challenges that are upcoming during the season rather than this tie in isolation. Bizarrely, Preston face Huddersfield at Goodison Park, make sure to bank that as a potential pub quiz question.

Fifteen managers will take charge of their first competitive games in their respective roles; it would have been seventeen had Michael Skubala and Lee Grant not faced off already. The most notable ones include Russell Martin with Leicester, who will go up against Northampton, managed by Chris Hogg, who also takes charge of his first competitive game.

Then we have Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto, who is renowned for his aggressive pressing approach, he takes charge of his first game in English football as they host freshly relegated Port Vale. Management pair Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen take charge of their first Lincoln City match as they travel to Derby, whilst Watford host Crawley in what will be Alessio Dionisi’s first experience of English football, I wonder how long he’ll last…

This is where round one gets interesting, because not all clubs are playing the same sort of game.

Plenty of managers will look at this weekend and see it as a slight inconvenience sitting one week before the season opener. You’d expect they may keep their cards close to their chest, not wanting to give too much away before the league season starts, particularly if they’re playing against same-division opposition.

Others will look at it and see something more useful. A chance to quash any doubts from pre-season in a competitive fixture, potentially against opposition from higher up the pyramid. Lee Grant and Walsall did exactly that last night, travelling to a Bristol City side who have just brought in two of the very best strikers the EFL has to offer and beating them 1-0. There were some doubts already creeping in after an underwhelming pre-season, but an early result like that could do wonders. An inspiration for many as they head into the weekend, for sure.

The cup bringing in the season is fairly common practice across the continent, and we may have to start getting used to it in the EFL. It’ll be interesting to analyse the different approaches clubs take, and the variety of results that follow.