Aston Villa to face Sunderland, Fleetwood Town and Carlisle United in the EFL Trophy

The Villans’ second string will join the Black Cats, Fleetwood Town and Carlisle United in Group A of the EFL Trophy – previously known as the Checkatrade Trophy and Leasing.com Trophy.

Full fixture details will be confirmed in due course, but the first round of fixtures will be played on September 8/9 and will be Sunderland’s second competitive game of the 2020/21 campaign following the Carabao Cup first round tie with Hull City currently scheduled for September 5.

The League One season is set to start on September 12 with fixtures to be released on Friday, August 21 at 9am.

Sunderland have enjoyed a mixed record in this competition since their drop into League One in 2018.

Under Jack Ross, the side reached the final of the competition in 2019 before being defeated on penalties by Portsmouth.

Last season, the Black Cats crashed out of the tournament during the group stage after defeats to Scunthorpe United and Leicester City under-21s.

Sunderland will receive a fee of £20,000 for participating in the competition, plus an additional £10,000 for each game they win in the group stage. £5,000 is paid to clubs who draw a group stage game after 90 minutes.

As in previous seasons, any group stage games that are drawn will be followed by a penalty shoot-out – with the winner receiving a bonus point.

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Sunderland Echo website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.