Sunderland will discover their 2020-21 fixtures next week, with the EFL confirming the date for fixture release day.
The fixtures for the Championship, League One, and League Two, will be revealed at 9am on Friday, August 21, which is just three weeks before the league season begins on September 12.
But the disruption to the normal football timetable means that the season will officially kick off the previous weekend, September 5, with the first round of the Carabao Cup - although some first round ties may have to be moved to take into account the international window which coincides with the planned weekend date.
The draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup will be made live on Sky Sports News on Tuesday, August 18, but no time has been confirmed as yet.
The first round will be split into north and south regions, but will be unseeded.
And rounds two, three, and four will be played on consecutive midweeks starting September 15-16.
The traditional two-legged semi-finals will be replaced by a one-off game.
The Covid-19 crisis has caused the EFL league season to begin six weeks later than was originally scheduled, and the campaign is due to end on the weekend of May 8-9.
To accommodate the fixtures in a compressed timescale, there will be an increased number of midweek games with 13 planned in the Championship and 11 in Leagues One and Two.
The EFL play-offs will take place over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 29-31.
The EFL Trophy will keep its current format, with the first group games played the week beginning September 7 - the week leading up to the start of the league season.
The group stage draw for the EFL Trophy will take place at 1.30pm on Tuesday, August 18, and will be broadcast live on Talksport 2.
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