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Tuesday's Carabao Cup preview: Northampton, Lincoln, Luton seek first-round scalps

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14:  Alex Revell of Northampton Town attempts to control the ball under pressure from Sam Manton of Scunthorpe United during
Image: Alex Revell's Northampton take on QPR in the first round of the Carabao Cup

The Carabao Cup kicks off on Tuesday, with Northampton, Lincoln and Luton looking to cause first-round upsets.

The Cobblers travel to QPR and the League One side, who beat West Brom in round two last season, are already relishing the prospect of a money-spinning tie should they see off Ian Holloway's men.

"We'll go there to impose ourselves and try and put our own style of play on the game, to try and cause an upset and get through to the next round," Northampton boss Justin Edinburgh told the club's official website.

"We know what lies ahead. If we can get a good victory in this round and cause an upset then we could get a big draw. We can't look beyond QPR, who had a fantastic result on Saturday at home, but we certainly go there looking to cause an upset."

Live Carabao Cup

A total of 29 first-round ties take place on Tuesday night with another five on Wednesday - including Colchester against Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports Football - as the EFL's knockout tournament gets under way for the first time since being rebranded under new sponsors. Bury take on Sunderland at Gigg Lane on Thursday, also live on Sky Sports Football.

Edinburgh's former club Gillingham travel to Reading confident of springing another surprise after dumping Watford out of the competition last season.

Accrington, meanwhile, sent Premier League side Burnley packing in the second round last year and will fancy their chances again when Preston visit.

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Forest Green's first foray in the tournament following promotion to the English Football League in May will be against MK Dons, while National League champions Lincoln travel to Rotherham for their first fixture in the competition in six
years.

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 18:   The Lincoln City team celebrate their win in the changing room after The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Burnle
Image: Lincoln City, who enjoyed a stunning FA Cup run last term, take on Rotherham

Luton, who knocked out Aston Villa in the first round last season, could make life difficult for Ipswich at Kenilworth Road after thrashing Yeovil 8-2 there on Saturday.

Bristol City can expect a bumper crowd for the visit of Plymouth, while Championship trio Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich and Wolves all have home advantage against Chesterfield, Swindon and Yeovil respectively.

Wednesday slipped to a league-opening defeat at Preston on Saturday and captain Glenn Loovens has warned his team-mates they must raise their game against local rivals.

"We all know we can play much better, it was a total off-day from everyone," he said. "We have to forget it quickly. We owe everyone a reaction."

Sheffield Wednesday's Glenn Loovens during the Sky Bet Championship match at Hillsborough, Sheffield. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 1
Image: Glenn Loovens' Sheffield Wednesday face a potential banana skin against local rivals Chesterfield

Elsewhere, Fulham travel to Wycombe and fellow Championship promotion-chasers Derby also hit the road to take on Grimsby, while Nottingham Forest host Shrewsbury.

Harry Redknapp's Birmingham, who fell at the first hurdle at St Andrew's against Oxford last season, take on League Two side Crawley at home and Wimbledon face London rivals Brentford at Kingsmeadow.

Bradford, beaten finalists in 2013, face-off against Yorkshire rivals Doncaster at Valley Parade, newly-promoted Millwall entertain Stevenage and Morecambe will look to upset Barnsley at Oakwell.

Cardiff and Portsmouth will both be buoyed by opening-day league wins when they clash in the Welsh capital and League One north-west rivals Wigan and Blackpool meet at the DW Stadium in another eye-catching first-round tie.

Live Carabao Cup

Follow the Carabao Cup action with our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps and watch Soccer Special for updates.

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