Revealed! The bizarre location Sunderland will discover Carabao Cup opponents

Sunderland will find out their opponents for the first round of the Carabao Cup this Thursday - with the draw taking place live from a supermarket.
John Barnes, pictured with the trophy outside the London supermarket.John Barnes, pictured with the trophy outside the London supermarket.
John Barnes, pictured with the trophy outside the London supermarket.

Last season saw draws for the competition held in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City and the cup’s organisers have announced the first round draw for this year will be held in a London supermarket.

A statement read: “Live from Morrisons, Colindale at 7pm on Thursday 20 June, the draw will take place within a short distance from Wembley Stadium – the home of the Carabao Cup Final.

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“Conducted by two former EFL Cup winners, supporters will be able to engage with the competition as they go about their daily routine… A true modern-day supermarket sweep!”

Drawing the 70 balls from the hat will be John Barnes and Ray Parlour as they select the 35 fixtures for round one.

Barnes said: “I’m delighted to be involved in the Carabao Cup round one draw this season, it’s a fantastic competition and round one is always a great occasion for fans of EFL Clubs.”

Parlour added: “Hosting the draw in a supermarket as fans go about their daily lives provides them with a great opportunity to engage with the competition and I can’t wait to see who will be crowned Carabao Cup winners this season.”

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70 EFL clubs will feature in the round one draw which will see teams drawn in Northern and Southern sections, as in 2018.

Matches are scheduled to take place week commencing 12 August.

Sunderland were knocked out in the first round last season, beaten 2-0 at home by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

*Boss Aidy Boothroyd admits England Under-21s cannot afford to slip up against France at Euro 2019.

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The Young Lions face France in Cesena in their Group C opener in Italy tonight.

England also play Romania in Cesena on Friday and Croatia in San Marino next Monday in a tricky group with just the winners guaranteed a semi-final spot.

"It is knockout football from day one. You don't get the luxury of having a game to just assess things whether you win, lose or draw. You are at it from the start.”

You know teams are going to need to attack to win the groups or claim the best runners-up spot. How does that change what we do?

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"It doesn't really because we look to play and win every single game. That's what we've talked about. It isn't going to be as easy as just saying that but we are looking to win the game."

Jake Clarke-Salter has been named as the Young Lions' skipper having captained them during some qualifying game and also leading the Under-19s.

The Chelsea defender wants to emulate John Terry after taking an international armband as well.

He said: "I'm a Chelsea player so John Terry is one of my idols and I look up to him a lot.

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"With young players as well I came through the academy and he would help me a lot and give me advice and that was one of the main factors for me personally."

Boothroyd named the 21-year-old as his captain on Monday and believes Clarke-Salter is the perfect choice.

He added: "I have known Jake a long time and I think besides being a very good footballer and very, very brave; one of his biggest and best characteristics is his humility. As you point out, there are a lot of big hitters, a lot of big personalities.

"But Jake is a doer and he has the respect of the staff and the players. They all look up to him and when he speaks they listen.