The game is scheduled to be played on Wednesday 29 April and is set to be streamed live on our Twitch channel.

Sam was one of ten players handed a bye in the First Round as were The Shrews, managed by midfielder Shaun Whalley.

The opening week's action saw Bristol City beat rivals Bristol Rovers 3-1 while Romaine Sawyers guided West Brom to a 5-0 win over Coventry City. Preston North End secured the most eye-catching result of the First Round with a 10-1 hammering of Crawley Town. Also through are local rivals Queens Park Rangers and Fulham following narrow successes over Peterborough United and Doncaster Rovers.

Supporter Sam won the fan vote to become our virtual manager and boasts an impressive CV on the latest version of the world's most popular Football management game. In a six-year career with The Bees, Sam has won ten domestic titles, including four Premier Leagues, as well as two Champions League, a Euro Cup and a Club World Cup.

The tournament is a straight knockout competition with the final two teams left standing facing off in the showpiece final in mid-May. After each round is completed, highlights will be uploaded onto the FM YouTube channel for you to catch up on all of the action and there will be a full written round-up on the FM website.

As well as supporting The Bees during the tournament, you can also show your support for the EFL’s charity partner, Mind, the mental health charity. In these tough times their services are needed more than ever so while you’re being entertained by the action, please consider donating on this JustGiving page which will be open during the tournament.

EFL FOOTBALL MANAGER CUP SCHEDULE

•    First round draw – Sunday 19 April•    First round match dates – Monday 20 April to Thursday 23 April•    The second round – week commencing 27 April •    The ‘round of 16’ – week commencing 4 May•    The quarter finals – 11-14 May•    The semi-finals – Saturday 16 May•    The final – Sunday 17 May

TOURNAMENT RULES

• Matches to be played on FM20 Touch Versus mode, teams must play as themselves. • This is a straight knockout tournament, with all ties comprising one game. Each tie will go to Extra Time and Penalties, if necessary, to produce a winner. • The ‘Home’ team of each tie will host the match • Suspensions/Injuries won't carry over to the next round