Following the draw of the First Round of the Carabao Cup which took place in the afternoon of Thursday 22nd June, live on Sky Sports, Rovers – who were ball number four – were offered a home tie against ball number 35, League Two’s Walsall.
The Ewood clash, which is set for the week commencing Monday 7th August, will be the first time the two sides would have faced each other since Rovers’ stint in League One, during 2017-18.
With the season set to start in just over six weeks, following today’s announcement of the fixture lists, both sides will be looking to try and advance as far as they can in the cup, with Rovers having reached the last 16 of the competition, following three wins against Hartlepool United, Bradford City and West Ham United, only to be beaten 4-1 by Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park. Walsall, meanwhile, got the better of Swindon Town in Round 1 of 2022-23, before Charlton Athletic proved too much for them in Round 2.
Despite both sides now heading in different directions in the league system, Rovers were the superior team during their last encounters during the promotion-winning 2017-18 season. A Danny Graham brace, following by a Bradley Dack finish saw Rovers beat Walsall, 3-1, at Ewood Park, before the wily forward bagged another double at the Bescot Stadium, in a 2-1 victory.
As per the club website, a confirmed date and ticket details for the tie will be announced in due course.
