Northampton Town will face Bristol Rovers on the opening day, Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup and Leicester City’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy in a week of fixture announcements.
In the week where details of the 2024/25 season were confirmed, the Cobblers will start the season proper on August 10th away at Bristol Rovers. This is a game that will start at 5:30pm, with all League One opening day fixtures getting a 5:30pm kick-off time and being televised by Sky Sports as part of their new TV rights deal.
Rovers finished 15th in League One last season, one place and three points behind Northampton in the table, with each side winning the respective home encounter.
Northampton will follow that with a cup tie against fellow League One opposition. As per today’s (27/06) Carabao Cup draw, the Cobblers will host Wycombe Wanderers, with the Chairboys making the trip to Sixfields in the week beginning August 12th 2024. This tie will be played on a date to be confirmed.
Wycombe finished 10th in the league table last season, recording home and away wins over Jon Brady’s side.
After that, Northampton’s first home league game of the season will be against Exeter City, and they will follow that by visiting Barnsley, which will see Northampton face the two sides that made up their final opponents of last season.
A home game against Burton Albion concludes Northampton’s August fixture programme.
At Christmas, Northampton’s Boxing Day match will see them face an away match against Reading, with the Cobblers hosting Charlton Athletic in their last game before Christmas.
Northampton’s final fixture of 2024 will see them face an away game against Shrewsbury Town, before they start 2025 with a New Year’s Day home match against Stevenage.
Charlton and Shrewsbury will also feature as opposition for the Cobblers at Easter, with Northampton travelling to The Valley on Good Friday before welcoming Shrewsbury to their place on Easter Monday.
The final match of the 2024/25 season will see Northampton host Wigan Athletic on Saturday 3rd May, with their final away date of the season being away at Crawley on 26th April.
Northampton’s latest Nene Valley derby clashes with Peterborough United will see them welcome Posh to Sixfields on 7th December, with the return fixture at Peterborough scheduled for early April.
All fixture dates are provisional. With Sky Sports pledging to broadcast every EFL team at least 20 times in the upcoming season as per the terms of their new TV rights deal, it means that fixture rescheduling is to be anticipated, with the first batch confirming picks to the end of September to be announced in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Northampton’s EFL Trophy draw will see the Cobblers face matches against Leicester City’s under 21s team, Burton Albion and Notts County.
The Cobblers had already been drawn with Burton and Notts County in a pre-draw earlier this week, with Leicester’s academy side added during a live draw earlier today.
Precise fixture dates and times will be announced in due course.
MK Dons will take on the Arsenal U21s as a part of their EFL Trophy group, with the Premier League side’s youth team completing their group.
The Dons had already been drawn alongside Leyton Orient and Colchester United as part of a pre-draw made earlier this week.
In a draw broadcast live on Sky Sports to complete proceedings, Arsenal are the academy side who have been put into the group, with the Gunners’ youth team being paired with the Dons and their already confirmed opposition.
Three group stage games will take place between early September and late November, with a specific sequence to be confirmed soon. The Dons will play the Arsenal U21s and one of the other two EFL sides at home, with the other EFL side to be a team they visit.
This will be the first time that MK Dons have faced Arsenal’s junior team since academy sides were invited into the EFL Trophy in 2016.
Last season, the Dons got out of their group in the EFL Trophy, winning a group that also contained Oxford, Northampton and Chelsea’s junior side. However, they would be duly dumped out after a 4-0 mauling at home by Brighton’s academy side.
Luton Town will start the 2024/25 Championship season with a clash against fellow relegated side Burnley.
The contest between two of the three teams demoted from last season’s Premier League will be played on the opening weekend of the season, with the two teams facing off at Kenilworth Road on Monday August 12th 2024.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, as part of the broadcaster’s deal to show more games in the new season. All fixtures in the upcoming season’s opening weekend in the three EFL divisions will be broadcast live on Sky.
Burnley took 4 points off Luton last season, winning at Kenilworth Road before the two sides drew at Turf Moor. The return fixture will take place in March.
After hosting the Clarets, Luton’s opening month of the season will see them travel to face last season’s League One champions Portsmouth at Fratton Park. They will then face another trip to Preston North End by ending August with a home game against QPR.
September will follow this up with games against Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday.
Over the Christmas period, Luton will play Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Boxing Day, with Rob Edwards’ side hosting Derby County in their last game before Christmas on December 21st.
The Hatters’ final game of 2024 will be away at Swansea City, before they begin 2025 on New Year’s Day by welcoming Norwich to Kenilworth Road.
Luton’s 2024/25 season concludes on May 3rd with a game against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, with their home programme ending by taking on Coventry City the week before.
Two games of interest will be Luton’s reunions with local rivals Watford, who they will take on for the latest chapter in a spiky regional rivalry.
The first contest will take place in October, and Luton will host first when they welcome Watford to Kenilworth Road on October 19th, with the return fixture at Vicarage Road scheduled for late February.
All fixtures beyond the opening weekend are provisionally scheduled, with all games subject to potential alterations.
Under the new deal, Sky are pledging to broadcast all EFL teams at least 20 times in the upcoming season, with a first round of dates to be confirmed in the next few weeks.
MK Dons have been drawn to play Watford away in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
The Dons will make the trip to face the Championship side in the competition, with their tie at Vicarage Road taking place in the week beginning August 12th 2024.
As per the newly announced fixture list, the game will be in-between the Dons’ opening two games of the League Two season, which are scheduled to be against Bradford and Colchester.
Watford finished 15th in the Championship last season, which was their second in the second tier after being relegated from the Premier League in 2022. They will start the season with former player Tom Cleverley as their manager.
The Dons have recently faced Watford in the Carabao Cup, with a Dons side then managed by Liam Manning winning 2-0 at Vicarage Road in the competition’s First Round in August 2022. Matt Dennis and Darragh Burns scored the goals as the Dons surprised the Hornets on that occasion.
That season saw the Dons reach Round 4, where they were ultimately knocked out by then-Premier League Leicester City. By contrast, the Dons failed to make it to a second round last season, as they lost to Buckinghamshire rivals Wycombe.
The Parks Trust has joined forces with local nature groups to celebrate Milton Keynes’ natural world in events for Love Nature Day.
Aiming to bring local people closer to nature, Love Nature Day returns to Howe Park Wood on Saturday 6th July with lots of fun crafts and activities to enjoy between 12pm – 4pm.
On the day, visitors can learn about bees and many other fascinating creatures as local wildlife organisations showcase the positive changes supporting the local natural environment.
Confirmed to be joining The Parks Trust are The Wildlife Trust, Butterfly Conservation, North Bucks Bat Group, Wolverton Swifts, RSPB, Natural History Museum Tring, and MK Natural History Society.
Patrons could also explore the woods on a guided tour led by The Parks Trust Biodiversity specialists, spotting plants, birds, and butterflies – with BSL interpretation available.
There’ll be storytelling and face painting for younger family members, and plenty of open space for everyone to sit back and relax with live music from Pantasy Steel Drum Band. Plus, a chance to practise mindfulness in nature with Starshine Yoga sessions.
Julie Dawes, Events & Community Engagement Manager for The Parks Trust said, “Love Nature Day always buzzes with excitement, for all ages! Our communities love learning about the local environment and wildlife, with our amazing partner organisations, especially in the special surroundings of Howe Park Wood. It’s one not to be missed!”
Love Nature Day is free to attend, please check activity schedules on The Parks Trust website to avoid disappointment. Remember, children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
Facilities available include toilets and changing facilities, and refreshments are available at the Grounds Café.
Howe Park Wood provides a safe home to many endangered animal and plant species and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildlife value by Natural England.
