Carabao Cup first round: Wrexham v Wigan, Gillingham v Southampton – live | Carabao Cup

Barnsley and Tranmere are level at 1-1, Herbie Kane scores a goal that owes so much to a goalkeeping goof from Joe Murphy.

By the by, Harry Kane didn’t start against Barcelona for Tottenham. Though did play 80 minutes on Sunday. MOTWYW.

Preston get one back against Salford. It’s 1-2 after Ben Woodburn’s goal.

Shock ahoy: Crewe are winning 1-0 at Sunderland, Luke Offord heading in at the back post, just on the stroke of half-time.

Affairs of the Herts: Stevenage are level at 1-1 with Watford, with Josh March on the mark.

Champions League news: PSV are beating Sturm Graz 3-1, and the winner of that tie will face Rangers in the next round.

Southampton, with those 11 changes, are still losing 1-0 at Gillingham.

Huddersfield 1-2 Middlesbrough, the team with a man advantage lead in the 7pm kick-off, with Isiah Jones scoring for Michael Carrick’s team.

The exciting game of the night is Blackburn 2-2 Walsall. The Class of 92’s Salford now lead Preston 2-0 with another goal from Connor McLennan.

At the Racecourse, Wigan have been playing very good football until they get to the final third. Wrexham have sat back on the counter. Still 0-0.

Some half-times in the 7.30 kick-offs

• Mansfield 1-0 Grimsby

• Swansea 1-0 Northampton

• Peterborough 1-0 Swindon

• Newport 0-1 Charlton

But not yet up at Wrexham. Ollie Palmer banging the ground as he passes up a shot. Wigan are playing some nice stuff but with little penetration.

Cheltenham now 2-0 down to Birmingham from Bacuna’s free-kick. Portsmouth has equalised against Forest Green, and Blackpool now 2-0 up on Derby. Swansea lead Northampton 1-0

The goals are flying in.

• Exeter 0 Crawley Town 1 (Klaidi Lolos 15)

• Hull 1 Doncaster 1 (George Miller 15)

• Port Vale 1 (Ethan Chislett 18) Fleetwood Town 1

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• Sutton Utd 0 Cambridge Utd 1 (Fejiri Okenabirhie 18)

• Notts County 0 Lincoln City 1 (Sean Roughan 23)

• Cheltenham 0 Birmingham 1 (Juninho Bacuna 24)

• Forest Green 1 (Tyrese Omotoye 24) Portsmouth 0

• Plymouth 1 (Ben Waine 25) Leyton Orient 0

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• Barnsley 0 Tranmere 1 (Luke Norris 23)

• Newport County 0 Charlton 1 (Daniel Kanu 43

• Stoke 1 (Joshua Griffiths Og 27) West Brom 0

• Forest Green 1 Portsmouth 1 (Kusini Yengi 30)

Joe Pearson is in touch from Indianapolis. Happy new season, Joe. “ It’s good to watch some live football (instead of DVRed WWC matches)! On ESPN+, my choices are Hull-Doncaster or Wrexham-Wigan. Of course I’m going with Hollywood’s Own Eleven. On a completely different topic, I started watching ‘Peaky Blinders’ about a week ago. I love Nick Cave, but ‘Red Right Hand’ has burrowed into my brain and it won’t let go. Favorite Cave track, John? I’m partial to the over-the-top ‘O’Malley’s Bar’. You?”

Here’s four from very different Cave career points: Shivers by The Boys Next Door – the young Aussie pop star. Nick The Stripper from the Birthday Party – snub-nosed junkie. From Her To Eternity – The Bad Seeds (so good live this one, RIP Anita Lane) and then from 2016, Jesus Alone, Nick grieving for his son with a pre-cog lyric.

Play them all loud.

Stockport have taken the lead at Sheffield Wednesday, with Paddy Madden, the talisman getting the goal. League Two leads the Championship, just as they do at Gillingham, where an Ashley Nadesan goal has Southampton a goal down.

Wrexham take to the field, and it’s a rather decent evening between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley. No James McClean for the home team, presumably as he’s just been bought from Wigan.

It’s half-time in that game between Huddersfield and Middlesbrough, still 1-1, as up at the Racecourse, the teams get ready to kick off.

Herts derby news: Watford 1-0 lead at Stevenage, Vakoun Bayo tapping in.

Hull City lead Doncaster in the M18 derby – Oscar Estupinan has knocked in.

Crisis club Reading are winning at Millwall, with Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan galloping through a rather statue-like Lions defence.

Couple of goals, with Peterborough leading Swindon at home and Swansea 1-0 up on Northampton. The goalscorers are Joel Randall and Joel Piroe respectively.

Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham boss, has been talking ahead of what he sees as “an interesting battle”. His opposite number is Shaun Maloney, another Wigan Wembley hero from a decade ago.

Such is the hype around Wrexham that Sky are interviewing the local vicar, who says he’s had a raft of Americans visiting his church. You can now go on a guided tour of Wrexham – a sentence that seemed unlikely in 2019.

Those 7.45 kick-offs are coming in.

• Accrington Stanley v. Bradford

• Barnsley v. Tranmere

• Blackburn v. Walsall

• Bolton v. Barrow

• Cheltenham v. Birmingham

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• Derby v. Blackpool

• Exeter v. Crawley Town

• Forest Green v. Portsmouth

• Gillingham v. Southampton

• Harrogate Town v. Carlisle

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• Hull v. Doncaster

• Millwall v. Reading

• Milton Keynes Dons v. Wycombe

• Notts County v. Lincoln City

• Plymouth v. Leyton Orient

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• Port Vale v. Fleetwood Town

• Preston North End v. Salford City

• Rotherham v. Morecambe

• Sheff Wed v. Stockport County

• Stevenage v. Watford

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• Stoke v. West Brom

• Sunderland v. Crewe

• Sutton Utd v. Cambridge Utd

Here’s your Wrexham v Wigan teams for that 8pm kick-off.

Wrexham: Howard, Forde, O’Connell, Tozer, Cleworth, McFadzean, Jones, Young, Davies, Palmer, Bickerstaff. Subs: McAlinden, Foster, Waters, Dalby, Mendy, Cannon, O’Connor, Barnett, Lee.

Wigan: Tickle, Watts, Hughes, Morrison, Pearce, Matthew Smith, Adeeko, Humphrys, Balagizi, McManaman, Sze. Subs: Wyke, Aasgaard, Amos, Lang, Scott Smith, Brennan, Robinson, Adams, McHugh.

For the Latics, Callum McManaman, a hero of their FA Cup final win in 2013, is playing, in his third spell at the club. Hugely talented player back in the game after 12 months or so out.

These 7.30 kick-offs are imminent.

• Mansfield v. Grimsby (KO 7.30)

• Newport County v. Charlton (KO 7.30)

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• Peterborough v. Swindon (KO 7.30)

• Swansea v. Northampton (KO 7.30)

Gillingham: Morris, Alexander, Ogie, Ehmer, McKenzie, Clark, Lapslie, Coleman, Jefferies, Clarke, Nadesan. Subs: Jonathan Williams, Nichols, Malone, Turner, Gbode, Chambers, Gale.

Southampton: McCarthy, Bree, Lyanco, Charles, Perraud, Meghoma, Stuart Armstrong, Djenepo, Amo-Ameyaw, Mara, Adams. Subs: Stephens, Aribo, Onuachu, Lumley, Edozie, Alcaraz, Doyle, Dibling, Ballard.

No Romeo Lavia, who was on the bench for Saints at Hillsborough, and no Ward-Prowse either. Che Adams starts up front, Charly Alcaraz on the bench. No Will Smallbone, either. That adds up to 11 changes.

And it’s now 1-1, Boro have equalised, Sammy Silvera’s effort hits both posts and nestles in the corner to level things up.

All happening in that Huddersfield v Middlesbrough game: Jaheim Headley has been sent off for a professional foul, last-man foul on Hayden Hackney.

A reminder, or perhaps news, is that the draw is split into north and south sections of the draw. Nobody has that far to travel.

There are no replays in the Carabao Cup and a winner of the tie will be determined on the night. Should the match be drawn at the end of 90 minutes, the match will immediately go to a penalty shootout without extra-time.

We may, however, see all that time added on that the EFL and Community Shield featured at the weekend. That appears here to stay. For now, anyway.

And there’s even room for an early Warnock celebration as Kian Harratt has opened the scoring for Huddersfield against Boro.

The earliest kick-off tonight is Huddersfield v Middlesbrough, Neil Warnock taking on the club he managed in the 2020-21 season, his last job in fact until he returned to Huddersfield earlier this year.

They’re up for this one in North Wales.

Tonight’s Carabao fixtures and kick-off times

Preamble