Express & Star

Walsall face tricky EFL Cup tie

Walsall have been handed a tricky home tie in the EFL Cup first round against higher-ranked Exeter City.

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Mat Sadler

The Saddlers will welcome the Grecians on the week commencing August 12, the first midweek of the season, with an exact date to be confirmed.

Mat Sadler's men will lock horns with Gary Caldwell's visitors, who finished 13th in League One last season and have spent two campaigns in the third tier.

The Bescot first round tie, in the southern section of the draw, arrives between the Saddlers' home opener against Morecambe and the following weekend's trip to Swindon in League Two.

Walsall's EFL Cup journey ended at the first hurdle in dramatic fashion last time out on the road at Championship Blackburn, where the Saddlers were edged out in a 4-3 thriller.