Hull City head into the EFL Cup first round on Wednesday aiming to progress past this stage for the first time in four seasons, having fallen at the first hurdle in their last three attempts.
Their latest campaign began at home to fourth-tier Doncaster Rovers last August, and the Tigers, then under the management of Liam Rosenior, failed to progress despite taking an early lead through Oscar Estupinan, as George Miller went on to fire the visitors to a 2-1 win with a brace.
Rosenior would lead the Yorkshire outfit for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign, eventually guiding them to a seventh-placed Championship finish, three points short of the final playoff spot, before departing over the summer and being replaced by Tim Walter.
Following a tough pre-season schedule, in which they managed two draws alongside four defeats, the Tigers raised the curtain on their latest second-tier campaign at home to Bristol City on Saturday, and after falling behind to a Fally Mayulu goal six minutes from time, they were able to win a penalty which Estupinan converted in injury time to snatch a point from a 1-1 draw.
Now searching for a first competitive victory under their new boss, Hull City will set out to build on that late leveller at the weekend and progress in the EFL Cup against fellow second-tier opposition.
That will be no easy task, though, as the visitors travel across Yorkshire on the back of a confidence-boosting win to start the season on Sunday.
Then under the management of Xisco Munoz, Sheffield Wednesday did make it past the first round of last season’s EFL Cup but were unable to progress any further, initially beating then-fourth-tier Stockport County in a penalty shootout at Hillsborough after a 1-1 draw, before playing out the same scoreline against Mansfield Town and falling short in the shootout.
Following a dismal start to their Championship campaign under Munoz, Danny Rohl took the reins at Hillsborough in October and led a memorable survival bid, as the Owls fought from behind to steer clear of the drop, eventually finishing three points clear of the drop zone in 20th spot thanks to three straight wins to end the season.
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Then following a victory, a draw and a defeat in their pre-season preparations, the Owls kicked off their first full campaign under Rohl in style at the weekend, hosting Plymouth Argyle in the Championship and dishing out a 4-0 beating, as Jamal Lowe had them 1-0 up at the interval and a Brendan Galloway own goal doubled the lead before Josh Windass and Michael Smith got on the scoresheet in the dying minutes.
With spirits bound to be high after that opening-day win to put them top of the Championship, Sheffield Wednesday will now bid to make it back-to-back victories to start the campaign before returning to league action away at Sunderland on Sunday.
