The World Cup may be ongoing but we're a month away from the new Football League season commencing.
The action will kick off with 35 first round ties in the EFL Cup, which are scheduled to take place on the second weekend of August instead of their traditional midweek slot.
Preston North End will get their season up and running with the visit of League One outfit Huddersfield Town in the first round of the competition, except the match will not be played at the Lilywhites' familiar setting of Deepdale.
Instead, Paul Heckingbottom's side will host Huddersfield at Goodison Park, formerly the home of Everton until the start of the 2025/26 season when the Toffees moved to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Why is Preston v Huddersfield being played at Goodison Park?
Preston requested permission to play their first round match at an alternate venue following the installation of a brand new hybrid pitch at Deepdale.
A statement from the club said: "The Lilywhites applied to the EFL for permission to play at the alternative venue due to the installation of the new hybrid pitch at Deepdale.
"The pitch will be complete in time for the club’s first home league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 22nd August, but to ensure no issues after a significant £1.5m-plus investment, the decision was made to ask permission to play away from PR1 in round one."
Everton's Women's team are now the sole residents of Goodison Park.
The match between the Lilywhites and the Terriers will be the first time Goodison has hosted a men's cup fixture as a neutral venue since Knowsley United faced Carlisle United in the 1993 FA Cup.
The cup tie will kick off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 8th August. Preston confirmed ticket details will be revealed in due course.
