Colchester United have been handed a trip to play League Two rivals Cheltenham Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The U's will travel to Whaddon Road for the tie in the first week of the new season, after the draw was made in Vietnam this morning.

It will mean an immediate return to Cheltenham for Harry Pell, who joined Colchester after leaving Whaddon Road earlier this summer.

The tie will be played in the week commencing August 13.

Colchester will be hoping to make progress in this season's competition, having bowed out at the first-round stage last August.

The U's were beaten 2-1 at home by Championship side Aston Villa in the first round, last season.

At its 2018 Summer Conference, EFL clubs voted on a number of rule changes to this season’s Carabao Cup competition including the removal of extra-time.

In the event that scores are tied after 90-minutes, penalty kicks will be taken immediately to determine a winner.

However, the format of penalties in the competition will revert to their traditional format after EFL Clubs trialled the ABBA concept throughout the 2017/18 season.

In addition to the on-field matters, clubs also voted to remove the seeding arrangements from the first two rounds of the Carabao Cup.