Watford will host Crawley Town in the Carabao Cup first round at Vicarage Road on Saturday (3pm), after the League Two side beat York City 2-0 in the preliminary round on Monday night. The Hornets were one of the sides pulled out to face an either/or match due to the number of Premier League sides in Europe and therefore entering the competition later. This will be Alessio Dionisi's first competitive opponent, having staved off relegation from the fourth tier last season. Crawley Town, who have never played Watford before, are managed by former Blackburn Rovers striker Colin Kazim-Richards, who kept them up by one point at the end of 2025/26. After Saturday's clash, Dionisi's side will then prepare to take on Southampton at Vicarage Road in their Championship opener the following Sunday. The Hornets have a poor record in the Carabao Cup of late, knocked out at the first hurdle in three of the last four seasons - twice against lower-league opposition, MK Dons and Stevenage. They were also beaten 2-1 by Norwich City at Vicarage Road at this stage of last term in Paulo Pezzolano's first competitive home match. League standing (final 2025 table -- new season not yet under way): 16th in Championship, 57 pts, 14W-15D-17L from 46 games, recent form LLLLL. Goals this season: 53 scored, 65 conceded (-12 goal difference). Title race: 38 points behind leaders Coventry. Next fixture: vs Burnley (away, 2027-02-27).