Excitement is already building ahead of the new season and this week sees the release of the EFL fixtures.

Gillingham fans will have a new-look side to watch when the football season kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, August 3.

On Thursday they'll find out who the Gills face first, with fixtures released at 9am.

And later on, on Thursday evening, the draw will be made for the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Anticipation has been building among Gills fans following the arrival of a handful of new players, including former Manchester United midfielder Matty Willock.

Fellow midfielder Stuart O'Keefe has arrived following his exit from Cardiff City and keeper Jack Bonham has agreed terms after leaving Brentford.

Defenders Lee Hodson and Connor Ogilvie have also joined and with boss Steve Evans chasing a handful of strikers, more signings will follow.

Evans will be facing a couple of former teams next season, in Rotherham and Peterborough. He left Peterborough midway through last season, being relieved of his duties despite the club sitting in the play-off positions.

The Gills boss enjoyed back-to-back promotions with Rotherham and they will be one of the favourites to claim League 1 honours next season, having dropped out of the Championship.

Fans will be looking forward to a meeting with Ipswich Town, having seen popular goalkeeper Tomas Holy sign for the Suffolk side this summer. Holy clocked over 100 appearances in his time with the Gills. It will be Gills' first visit to Ipswich for a league game since 2004.

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Bristol Rovers will have former Gills youngster Josh Hare in their side next season while MK Dons - who have been promoted from League 2 - will have exciting forward Brennan Dickenson in their squad, a player who showed flashes of quality during his time at Priestfield.

Another fixture to look out for is the away game against Coventry City, a match that will actually be played at Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground, after the club failed to reach agreement over a deal to stay at the Ricoh Arena.

While the league season will kick off on the first Saturday of August, there will be a Friday night game picked out for live TV coverage, almost certainly one from the Championship.

A new TV deal for Sky Sports means they will show more EFL games from next season, totalling 183 games.

Gillingham fans will be doing extra miles next season, around 300 more, with Sunderland remaining in League 1 after their play-off defeat to Charlton and the arrival of Bolton from the Championship.

The League Cup is again being sponsored by energy drink makers Carabao but they've decided to make the first round draw closer to home, having staged it in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City previously.

This year they're drawing the balls out live from a supermarket in north London, just a short distance from Wembley Stadium, which will host the final on Sunday, March 1.

More pertinent to Gills fans is the date for the first round, which will be on week commencing, Monday, August 12, with most games on the Tuesday.

Liverpool legend John Barnes will be there to help with the draw, one which includes Football League newboys Salford City.

The Football Trophy won't have a sponsor next season, having lost the backing of Checkatrade, but higher-profile academy sides have got on board.

Liverpool and Manchester United will be represented this coming season, among 16 invited category one academy side to play against the teams from League 1 and 2. It's the first time the top six Premier League sides have all been in the competition.

The draw for the EFL Trophy takes place in July with teams once again split into regional groups at the first round stage. Opening games take place week commencing September 2 and the final at Wembley is on Sunday, April 5.

The bookies have priced the Gills at long odds for success in League 1 but one date for your diary is the play-off final - just incase - on Sunday, May 24.

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