Blackburn Rovers will be looking to enjoy another cup run this term as they welcome League Two side Walsall to Ewood Park on Tuesday night in the first round of the EFL Cup.

Rovers made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season before falling short against Sheffield United, while Walsall will be hoping for some excitement after years of stagnation in the fourth tier.

Match preview

Blackburn started their Championship campaign with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park on Saturday, with the hosts scoring a quickfire double in the first half to secure the maximum.

Much has been made ahead of the new season of the departures of Ben Brereton Diaz and Bradley Dack to Villarreal and Middlesbrough respectively, but young attackers Dilan Markanday and Harry Leonard got themselves onto the scoresheet against the Baggies to earn three points.

Back at their Lancashire home on Tuesday night, Jon Dahl Tomasson's men will be looking to better a decent run in last season's EFL Cup, with Rovers reaching the last 16 before being knocked out by Nottingham Forest in December.

Blackburn are one of only four sides who have won the competition this century competing in this season's first round - goals from Andy Cole and Matthew Brooke Jansen were enough to beat Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium in the 2002 final.

Focusing on the modern day, Tomasson's men have fared well against lower-tier opposition in recent times, beating both Barnsley and Stockport County as part of their pre-season preparations in late July.

Walsall were unable to get their League Two campaign off to a positive start on Saturday afternoon after they returned from Morecambe's Mazuma Stadium without anything to show for their considerable efforts.

The Saddlers thought they had a forced a share of the spoils when Danny Johnson equalised following Adam Mayor's opener for the hosts, but a 92nd-minute winner from Shrimps centre-back Farrend Rawson snatched all the points.

Since a third-place finish in the 2015-16 League One campaign, Walsall have been a club on the decline, and their five League Two seasons so far have seen them finish exclusively between 12th and 19th.

The appropriately-named Mat Sadler is at the helm in the West Midlands, and the 38-year-old is enjoying his first spell as a manager after hanging up his boots at the conclusion of the 2020-21 term.

Tuesday's visitors have only managed to progress past the first round of the EFL Cup in two of the last seven years, but Walsall do have a level of pedigree in this competition - if you venture back long enough - with the Saddlers reaching the semi-finals in 1984.