The EFL have confirmed that their 2020/21 league fixtures will be announced at 9am on Friday 21st August when they will be available on TWTD.
The League One season, which will begin behind closed doors but with plans for a limited number of fans to return in October, is set to start over the weekend of Saturday 12th September, but by then the Blues will already have been in cup action on two fronts.
The Carabao Cup draw will take place live on Sky Sports News on Tuesday 18th August, time to be confirmed, with round one fixtures set to be played on Saturday 5th September, although with scope to move those matches as they take place in an international week. Games could potentially be played on Saturday 29th August.
As in the previous two seasons, the round one draw is set to be divided into northern and southern sections and unseeded.
Given the reduced length of the season, this year’s semi-finals will be single ties rather than two-legged affairs. The first four rounds are scheduled to take place on consecutive weeks: 5th September, 15th/16th September, 22nd/23rd September, 29th/30th September.
Round five will be played on 22nd/23rd December with the semi-final on 5th/6th January and final on 28th February.
Premier League sides enter the competition in round two or round three if competing in European competitions.
The EFL Trophy, last season the Leasing.com Trophy but with that sponsorship having ended, gets under way in the midweek prior to the league opener.
The category one academy sides playing U21 sides in the competition this season are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The draw for group stages of that competition takes place at 1.30pm on Tuesday 18th August on TalkSPORT 2.
Following the September start, the second group match will be played on 6th/7th October and the third on 10th/11th November. The round of 32 will be played on 8th/9th January, the round of 16 on 12th/13th January, the semi-finals on 16th/17th February and the final on 14th March.
In the FA Cup there will be no replays during the season ahead due to the potential for fixture congestion.
As the season is starting six weeks later than usual, 11 League One matches will be played in midweek.
The season will conclude with the play-off finals at Wembley played over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May 2021.