Exeter City face challenging start to League One season

Exeter City face a challenging but exciting start to their 2024/25 League One season following the release of the fixtures. The Grecians will start up at home to Rotherham United on Saturday, August 10, but with Sky TV showing every game on the opening day of the campaign, the match will kick-off at 5.30pm.

City’s first away game is a week later at Northampton Town before they then face Peterborough United (H), Bolton Wanderers (A), Birmingham City (H) and Blackpool (A) in succession.

“It’s always an exciting day in the calendar when you are back in pre-season and begin that work for the season and then you find out what lies ahead of you, but yeah, it’s a difficult start against a team that came down from the Championship and have some faces that we know well with Zak Jules, Sam Nombe and Steve Evans,” City boss Gary Caldwell said.

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“Steve is someone I’ve come up against a few times last year, I have a lot of respect for him, he is a fantastic manager, so yeah, it is a really exciting game.

“Last year was a difficult start away at Wycombe and it was incredible how we started, but you have to play every team twice and you have to play them home and away. We have to be ready and do what we do and make sure that we are right come that first day and pick up almost where we left off last year and keep progressing this football club forward.”

The Grecians will again be at home on Boxing Day with former manager Matt Taylor bringing his Bristol Rovers side to St James’ Park, followed by another home clash on December 29 against League Two play-off winners Crawley Town. City then head to Wycombe Wanderers on New Year’s Day.

“The Boxing Day fixture is one I always look for early and it’s at home and to have Bristol Rovers come in a derby match – it’ll be a sell-out,” Caldwell added.

“It’ll be a brilliant occasion, so that’s one to look forward to, but we have lots of games to play before that and lots of work to do in pre-season before that first game here against Rotherham.”

Easter sees a home clash with Burton Albion on Good Friday and a trip to Crawley Town on Easter Monday before the season concludes with the penultimate game at home to Huddersfield Town, relegated from the Championship, and a trip to Mansfield Town, promoted from League Two.

City’s midweek games sees them travel to Leyton Orient on Tuesday, October 1, while Reading are the visitors to Devon on Tuesday, October 22.

Wycombe head to St James Park on Tuesday, December 3, Orient are the visitors on Tuesday, January 28, the Grecians then head to Reading for an 8pm kick-off on Tuesday, March 4 and it is away to Barnsley for the final midweek game on Tuesday, April 1.

However, games against Birmingham (H, Sept 7), Mansfield (H, October 12), Lincoln (H, Nov 16) and Lincoln (A, March 22) fall on international weekends and will likely be moved to a Tuesday night.

City fans can look forward to their first trip to Birmingham’s St Andrews stadium on Saturday, January 18, the first time they will have visited the Blues since a two-legged League Cup tie in August 1999, while the closest away game sees them visit Bristol Rovers on Saturday, April 12.

Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bring Wrexham to St James Park on Saturday, March 29 with the trip to the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, November 23.

It will be Exeter ’s first trip to north Wales since September 2002, the season which saw the Grecians relegated from the Football League.

EXETER CITY FIXTURES IN FULL

10/08/2024 Exeter City v Rotherham United

17/08/2024 Northampton Town v Exeter City

24/08/2024 Exeter City v Peterborough United

31/08/2024 Bolton Wanderers v Exeter City

07/09/2024 Exeter City v Birmingham City

14/09/2024 Blackpool v Exeter City

21/09/2024 Exeter City v Stevenage

28/09/2024 Wigan Athletic v Exeter City

01/10/2024 Leyton Orient v Exeter City

05/10/2024 Exeter City v Cambridge United

12/10/2024 Exeter City v Mansfield Town

19/10/2024 Shrewsbury Town v Exeter City

22/10/2024 Exeter City v Reading

26/10/2024 Huddersfield Town v Exeter City

09/11/2024 Exeter City v Charlton Athletic

16/11/2024 Exeter City v Lincoln City

23/11/2024 Wrexham v Exeter City

03/12/2024 Exeter City v Wycombe Wanderers

07/12/2024 Stockport County v Exeter City

14/12/2024 Exeter City v Barnsley

21/12/2024 Burton Albion v Exeter City

26/12/2024 Exeter City v Bristol Rovers

29/12/2024 Exeter City v Crawley Town

01/01/2025 Wycombe Wanderers v Exeter City

04/01/2025 Exeter City v Bolton Wanderers

11/01/2025 Peterborough United v Exeter City

18/01/2025 Birmingham City v Exeter City

25/01/2025 Exeter City v Blackpool

28/01/2025 Exeter City v Leyton Orient

01/02/2025 Stevenage v Exeter City

08/02/2025 Exeter City v Wigan Athletic

15/02/2025 Cambridge United v Exeter City

22/02/2025 Charlton Athletic v Exeter City

01/03/2025 Exeter City v Northampton Town

04/03/2025 Reading v Exeter City

08/03/2025 Exeter City v Shrewsbury Town

15/03/2025 Rotherham United v Exeter City

22/03/2025 Lincoln City v Exeter City

29/03/2025 Exeter City v Wrexham

01/04/2025 Barnsley v Exeter City

05/04/2025 Exeter City v Stockport County

12/04/2025 Bristol Rovers v Exeter City

18/04/2025 Exeter City v Burton Albion

21/04/2025 Crawley Town v Exeter City

26/04/2025 Exeter City v Huddersfield Town

03/05/2025 Mansfield Town v Exeter City