FIXTURES RELEASED: All the key dates as Cobblers kick-off League One campaign with home fixture

Cobblers will kick-off their 2020/21 Sky Bet League One campaign with a home fixture against AFC Wimbledon.

The Dons are to visit the PTS Academy Stadium on Saturday, September 12, with Town then heading to Shrewsbury for their first away trip the following weekend.

Those two fixtures, plus the visit of Hull City on September 26, are almost certain to be staged behind closed doors, but the following game, at Bristol Rovers (Oct 3), may see the long-awaited return of some supporters.

And excitingly, the first home game with fans back at Sixfields could well be the visit of rivals Peterborough United on October 10. The return fixture against Posh is scheduled for the final few weeks of the season (April 17).

The festive spell sees Cobblers head to Ipswich Town on Boxing Day before hosting Gillingham (Dec 29) and Sunderland (Jan 2), while they also face long midweek trips to Rochdale (Nov 24) and Fleetwood (Jan 26).

Keith Curle's side are set for a particularly busy spell at the end of October when they play six times in 17 days, including trips to Plymouth (Oct 17), Portsmouth (Oct 27) and Wigan (Oct 31), in addition to the visit of MK Dons (Nov 3).

The Cobblers will finish the season with a trip to one of the hot favourites for promotion in Sunderland on May 8, while the final home game is set to be against Blackpool the previous weekend.

FULL FIXTURES:

Sat, Sep 12: AFC Wimbledon (H)

Sat, Sep 19: Shrewsbury Town (A)

Sat, Sep 26: Hull City (H)

Sat, Oct 3: Bristol Rovers (A)

Sat, Oct 10: Peterborough United (H)

Sat, Oct 17: Plymouth Argyle (A)

Tue, Oct 20: Swindon Town (H)

Sat, Oct 24: Charlton Athletic (H)

Tue, Oct 27: Portsmouth (A)

Sat, Oct 31: Wigan (A)

Tue, Nov 3: MK Dons (H)

Sat, Nov 7: FA Cup, first round

Sat, Nov 14: Accrington Stanley (H)

Sat, Nov 21: Burton Albion (A)

Tue, Nov 24: Rochdale (A)

Sat, Nov 28: FA Cup, second round

Tue, Dec 1: Fleetwood Town (H)

Sat, Dec 5: Doncaster Rovers (H)

Sat, Dec 12: Crewe Alexandra (A)

Tue, Dec 15: Oxford United (A)

Sat, Dec 19: Lincoln City (H)

Sat, Dec 26: Ipswich Town (A)

Tue, Dec 19: Gillingham (H)

Sat, Jan 2: Sunderland (H)

Sat, Jan 9: Blackpool (A) (also FA Cup third round weekend)

Sat, Jan 16: Oxford United (H)

Sat, Jan 23: Lincoln City (A)

Tue, Jan 26: Fleetwood Town (A)

Sat, Jan 30: Wigan Athletic (H)

Sat, Feb 6: Accrington Stanley (A)

Sat, Feb 13: Burton Albion (H)

Sat, Feb 20: MK Dons (A)

Tue, Feb 23: Rochdale (H)

Sat, Feb 27: Swindon Town (A)

Tue, Mar 2: Plymouth Argyle (H)

Sat, Mar 6: Portsmouth (H)

Tue, Mar 9: Charlton Athletic (A)

Sat, Mar 13: Doncaster Rovers (A)

Sat, Mar 20: Crewe Alexandra (H)

Sat, Mar 27: AFC Wimbledon (A)

Fri, Apr 2: Shrewsbury Town (H)

Mon, Apr 5: Hull City (A)

Sat, Apr 10: Bristol Rovers (H)

Sat, Apr 17: Peterborough United (A)

Tue, Apr 20: Ipswich Town (H)

Sat, Apr 24: Gillingham (A)

Sat, May 1: Blackpool (H)

Sat, May 8: Sunderland (A)