The EFL have confirmed that the draws for the Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy will be made on Thursday in addition to the announcement of Championship, League One and League Two fixtures.
The Blues’ League One schedule for the 2021/22 will be announced at 9am with the draw for round one of the Carabao Cup live on Sky Sports at 3.40pm.
Round one will see teams drawn in unseeded northern and southern sections with matches scheduled to take place week commencing 9th August, although clubs are permitted to mutually agree an alternative date between 31st July and 4th August.
The Papa John’s Trophy Round One draw will take place live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm.
The draw will see the 16 invited U21 teams from category one clubs added to the groups - with from the north, eight from the south - into which the 48 EFL clubs have already been placed.
The EFL say consideration has been given to ensure travel time is minimised and recovery time is maximised for players.
Further to that, if two teams meet in the group stages for a second successive season then the club who was at home in 2020/21 will play away in 2021/22.
All EFL clubs will play two of their three matches at home in the group stages with the U21 sides playing all their matches away from home.
The U21 sides taking part are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wolves.