Leeds United handed fourth early-season fixture change as Carabao Cup clash vs Middlesbrough picked for TV

Leeds United’s Carabao Cup first round clash against Middlesbrough next month will be shown live on television after being picked by Sky Sports, with dates and times for all opening round fixtures now confirmed.

Daniel Farke’s side host fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough at Elland Road next month, with the opening round of Carabao Cup games coming just days after the league campaign kicks off. Sky Sports have now confirmed the game will take place on the evening of Wednesday 14 August, with kick-off at 8pm live on Sky Sports Football.

All Carabao Cup games will be shown via Sky Sports+ as part of a huge agreement between the broadcasting giant and the English Football League (EFL). But the decision to put Leeds on regular TV represents a fourth fixture change before the end of September across all competitions, with the popularity of Farke’s men evidently continuing into next season.

Alongside last week’s EFL fixture release, Sky Sports announced its commitment to confirming all changes for the first half of the season before a ball is kicked next month. As part of that, all TV selections up until the end of September were confirmed on Wednesday, with each EFL club to feature a minimum of three times.

In a first-of-its-kind moment, every single opening weekend game will be available to watch via Sky Sports+, meaning the opening weekend visit of newly-promoted Portsmouth to Elland Road will be live to watch. That game kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday, August 10 - just days before the Carabao Cup clash.

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The two Championship games that follow that Carabao Cup clash have also been moved after being selected for live broadcast by Sky Sports. Leeds now travel to West Bromwich Albion at 12.30pm on Saturday August 17, before then heading to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday August 23 with an 8pm kick off. After a rare Saturday 3pm kick-off at home to Hull City, Farke’s men then host newly-relegated Burnley at 12.30pm on Saturday September 14.

Those fixture changes mean that five of United’s first six games across all competitions will be shown live on TV, with just one of their opening five Championship games staying in the traditional Saturday 3pm slot. Farke’s side will soon get a clearer picture of how their opening few months will play out, with fixture changes going into the autumn and winter expected before the opening day of the season.

Leeds fans have grown increasingly frustrated at the constant change of fixture dates and times, with the club shown live a whopping 35 times last season. That intensified as Farke’s men pushed for promotion, with all but one game - the 2-1 defeat at Coventry - moved after the March international break.

It is feasible that last season’s tally is beaten, given the new agreement between Sky Sports and the EFL means 1,059 games across the EFL will be available to watch - 328 of which will be from the Championship. As well as all midweek games, Sky Sports+ will now show every game during bank holidays such as Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and every game on the final day of the season in May.