Town have drawn League One Exeter City away in the first round of the Carling Cup, one of the longest possible trips on offer. The match will be played in the week commencing 9th August.
The game will see the Blues reunited with former striker Marcus Stewart, who has signed on at St James' Park for one more season. Also on the staff at the Devon club is another ex-Town frontman, Richard Logan.
The sides last met in 1998/99 at the same stage of the competition when ties were played over two legs. The first leg in the south-west ended 1-1 with Matt Holland putting the Blues in front and Jonathan Richardson equalising for the Grecians in the final minute.
Town comfortably won the second leg at Portman Road, Mauricio Taricco, Holland again, Mick Stockwell, Alex Mathie and Paul Mason, playing his final game for the Blues, scoring the goals in a 5-1 victory. Richardson again netted for Exeter.
Overall, The Blues have won 10 games between the sides and the Grecians six with nine ending in draws. In addition to the 1998/99 League Cup matches, the teams have met once in the FA Cup, in 1951/52 when Town ran out 4-0 victors at Portman Road.
TWTD will have Town's full programme of league fixtures available on the site as soon as they are officially released at 9am tomorrow.
Meanwhile, TWTD has learned that the club is in talks regarding the possibility of a second home pre-season friendly against Premier League opposition with Tottenham the likely opponents.
Already confirmed is West Ham’s visit to Portman Road on Saturday 31st July, while the Blues will travel to Southend on Friday 9th July.
Town are also pencilled in to play PSV in Eindhoven on Saturday 17th July, but this game is still to be confirmed by either club. Further Dutch friendlies are also likely to be in the club’s plans.
The Blues' U18s will play their annual friendly in Southwold against Sole Bay United on Thursday 22nd July (6.30pm).
Carling Cup - Round One
Hartlepool United v Sheffield United
Leicester City v Macclesfield Town
Walsall v Tranmere Rovers
Carlisle United v Huddersfield Town
Stockport County v Preston North End
Barnsley v Rochdale
Morecambe v Coventry City
Doncaster Rovers v Accrington Stanley
Chesterfield v Middlesbrough
Peterborough United v Rotherham United
Bradford City v Nottingham Forest
Leeds United v Lincoln City
Sheffield Wednesday v Bury
Scunthorpe United v Oldham Athletic
Crewe Alexandra v Derby County
Exeter City v Ipswich Town
Southend United v Bristol City
Southampton v AFC Bournemouth
Brentford v Cheltenham Town
Queens Park Rangers v Port Vale
Torquay United v Reading
Norwich City v Gillingham
Stevenage v Portsmouth
Shrewsbury Town v Charlton Athletic
Cardiff City v Burton Albion
Northampton Town v Brighton & Hove Albion
Swansea City v Barnet
Plymouth Argyle v Notts County
Wycombe Wanderers v Millwall
Oxford United v Bristol Rovers
Milton Keynes Dons v Dagenham & Redbridge
Hereford United v Colchester United
Yeovil Town v Crystal Palace
Aldershot Town v Watford
Swindon Town v Leyton Orient