Capital One Cup Draw 2015-16: Dates and Fixtures for 2nd-Round Schedule
The second-round schedule for this season's Capital One Cup was announced on Thursday, with Fulham's clash with Sheffield United and a meeting between MK Dons and Cardiff City both looking appetising.
The 12 Premier League teams not involved in European competition entered the fray to intensify the competition alongside 12 other seeded outfits and 24 unseeded hopefuls.
Read on for a complete rundown of the second-round fixtures along with discussion of which fixtures promise to put on the greatest fireworks in the next batch of matchups.
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| Aston Villa | vs. | Notts County |
| Walsall | vs. | Brighton and Hove Albion |
| Crystal Palace | vs. | Shrewsbury Town |
| Sheffield Wednesday | vs. | Oxford United |
| Portsmouth | vs. | Reading |
| Hartlepool United | vs. | Bournemouth |
| Fulham | vs. | Sheffield United |
| MK Dons | vs. | Cardiff City |
| Hull City | vs. | Rochdale |
| Sunderland | vs. | Exeter |
| Bury | vs. | Leicester |
| Doncaster Rovers | vs. | Ipswich Town |
| Rotherham | vs. | Norwich City |
| Swansea City | vs. | York City |
| Queens Park Rangers | vs. | Carlisle United |
| Barnsley | vs. | Everton |
| Peterborough United | vs. | Charlton Athletic |
| Birmingham City | vs. | Gillingham |
| Newcastle United | vs. | Northampton Town |
| West Bromwich Albion | vs. | Port Vale |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | vs. | Barnet |
| Burton Albion | vs. | Middlesbrough |
| Luton Town | vs. | Stoke City |
| Preston North End | vs. | Watford |
The second-round fixtures will take place in the week commencing August 24.
MK Dons and Cardiff City will be the only second-round clash to involve two Championship outfits, where Karl Robinson's men will look to build on their first-round victory over Leyton Orient.
Meanwhile, Russell Slade's Cardiff beat Wimbledon 1-0 in their last outing, with Dafydd Pritchard of BBC Wales Sport pointing out the spooky nature of drawing the Dons straight after:
Preston North End and Rotherham United were the only other unseeded Championship sides and have each drawn Premier League opposition in Norwich City and Watford, respectively.
The second-tier sides have the advantage of home territory, but even that may only prove so helpful as they look to subvert the odds and overthrow their top-flight superiors.
Fulham and Sheffield United last met in February 2014, when the Blades emerged as 1-0 victors after extra time to take their place in the fifth round of that season's FA Cup.
Sheffield United didn't look confident in the last round and had to rely upon a 90th-minute winner from Neill Collins in order to book their second-round berth, while Fulham were similarly shaky in a 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers.
Elsewhere, former Barnsley pair John Stones and Mason Holgate, both now at Everton will head back to Oakwell later this month after the Toffees were drawn away to their old club on Thursday.
Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo confirmed a reunion was on the slate, with the recently moved Holgate in particular perhaps looking to impress early on for his new side:
Premier League outfits were afforded fairly simple ties, by and large, with Aston Villa facing Notts County, Crystal Palace hosting Shrewsbury Town and Stoke City's away trip to Luton some of the more intriguing matchups.
That being said, the League Cup has a habit of throwing logic to the wind as England's minnows attempt to launch their best efforts of claiming cup success.
