The first part of the EFL Trophy group stage draw has taken place for Blackpool and others.

Blackpool have discovered the first two teams they will face in the opening round of the 2026/27 EFL Trophy.

The Seasiders have been placed into Northern Group B, with the competition due to get underway on the week commencing September 21.

Ian Evatt’s side have been drawn alongside fellow third tier outfit Wigan Athletic and Crewe Alexandra from League Two.

Blackpool came up against the latter of the two in the groups stages a couple of seasons ago, with interim then-head coach Richard Keogh overseeing a 4-1 win at Bloomfield Road.

A further opponent will be added at 2.30pm on Thursday afternoon, with a draw live on Sky Sports News taking place for the Premier League U21s teams.

This comes shortly after the release of the complete fixtures for the Championship, League One and League Two.

The Seasiders and others will discover their complete schedule at 12pm (June 25), with all three leagues due to get underway on the weekend of August 14-16.

Meanwhile, the week prior, the EFL season will kick off with the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Like the EFL Trophy, the draw for this will also take place on Thursday.