Respective 10th and 17th-place finishes in the Premier League last season mean no European football at all this term and the London rivals are therefore entering English football’s secondary club competition a round earlier than they would usually be accustomed to.
The rest of the Premier League clubs also come in at this stage, bar the nine who are competing across the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League during the forthcoming campaign.
This has been done to try and ease fixture congestion, with clubs previously having to play three times in a week so early in the season.
Fourth-tier Walsall…
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