Carlisle United have confirmed the dates for their group stage games in the EFL Trophy.

The Blues will take on Accrington Stanley, Nottingham Forest's Under-21s and Harrogate Town in the 2023/24 competition.

United's northern group C games will see a trip to Accrington followed by home games against Forest's youngsters and Harrogate.

The first game at Accrington's Wham Stadium is on Tuesday, September 5 with a 7.45pm kick-off.

Carlisle then welcome Forest U21s to Brunton Park on Tuesday, October 10 with a 7pm kick-off.

Harrogate then make the trip to Cumbria on Tuesday, November 14, also at 7pm.

The latter will be United's second cup meeting with Harrogate, who host Carlisle in the Carabao Cup first round at the EnviroVent Stadium on Tuesday, August 8.

Carlisle will be hoping for a better showing in the competition than last season, when they did not make it through the group stages.

The competition, which has been dogged by controversy and supporter boycotts over its inclusion of Premier League Under-21 teams from 2016, does not currently have a sponsor.

Previous backers Papa John's opted not to renew their sponsorship this year, with the Trophy having been previously sponsored by Checkatrade and Leasing.com.