Middlesbrough and Wrexham begin their new season at the Riverside Stadium on Friday in the first round of the Carabao Cup, as both teams seek for this to be the season that brings them promotion from the Championship, back into the Premier League.
Last season, Middlesbrough lost 4-0 to Doncaster in the first round of this competition. It wasn't really a sign of things to come in their season, as they eventually finished fifth in the Championship and qualified for the playoffs. They lost their semifinal over two legs to Southampton, but in the aftermath of the infamous Spygate saga involving Saints' head coach Tonda Eckert, Boro went into the playoff final, where they lost 1-0 to Hull City.
Wrexham, on the other hand, just missed out on the playoffs last season in the Championship, as they finished seventh. In the Carabao Cup, Wrexham went through to the fourth round, where they lost 2-1 to Cardiff City.
This season, there are five all-Championship matches in the first round of the Carabao Cup, and this one is perhaps the most high-profile fixture of the lot.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available to watch on ITV1, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football in the U.K., Paramount+ in the U.S.A., FanCode in India, and BeIN Sports in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
UK BST: Friday, August 7, 8:00 p.m
U.S. ET: Friday, August 7, 3:00 p.m.
India IST: Saturday, August 8, 12:30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Saturday, August 8, 5:30 a.m.
Venue: Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Referee: Will Finnie
Predicted XIs:
Middlesbrough
Sol Brynn
Callum Brittain | Alfie Jones | Sam Edmundson | Finley Munroe
Riley McGree | Aidan Morris | Leo Castledine
Morgan Whittaker | David Strelec | Sontje Hansen
Wrexham
Arthur Okonkwo
Max Cleworth | Dominic Hyam | Callum Doyle
Danny Imray | Ollie Rathbone | Lewis O'Brien | Liberato Cacace
Bailey Cadamarteri | Nathan Broadhead
Sam Smith
Talking Points:
Will Premier League friendlies battle-harden Wrexham?
Phil Parkinson cannot complain of a lack of preparation for his side ahead of the new season. After starting pre-season with a 0-0 draw against Wisla Krakow, Wrexham have played games against Manchester United, Leeds United, Liverpool and Sunderland. Wrexham beat Man United and lost the other three games by narrow, one-goal margins, as they did show that they could compete with those teams in the Premier League.
Parkinson said earlier this week that he sees this first round cup tie as a continuation of pre-season and another opportunity to get his whole squad up to speed, but after their thrilling FA Cup run last year, where Wrexham had beaten Nottingham Forest, and came close to beating Chelsea as well, their fans in North Wales will be looking forward to another deep cup run, with perhaps a few Premier League scalps on the way as well.
New season, new opportunity for Boro?
Make no mistake, that playoff final was a huge chance missed for Middlesbrough, and now, they start from scratch. Of course, the Championship is a marathon that begins next week, but there are worse ways to set yourself up for the start of that season than to beat one of your rivals and make a statement. Boro have made some good signings this summer, most notably USMNT midfielder Sebastian Berhalter. It will be interesting to see whether Kim Hellberg puts Berhalter right into this thick of it in this cup tie or if Boro opt to take the safe route to bringing Berhalter to full fitness.
Either way, last season's Carabao Cup was a nightmare for Boro, and they know that they will have to start this season better. After all, there are few things in English football as a team from outside the Premier League priming itself for a deep cup run.