Barnet will be hoping to land a top Championship side when the draw for the Carling Cup first round is made on Friday.

The draw is regionalised and seeded, meaning the Bees cannot be paired against another League Two club.

Up for grabs are the likes of Reading, Bristol City, Watford, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Charlton Athletic.

And on Monday, Barnet will also discover the first opponents of their League Two campaign.

The Football League will release the 2008/9 fixtures at 10am, the same time the Carling Cup draw will be announced.

Meanwhile, Barnet fans wishing to buy their season ticket at a reduced rate have until Friday to take advantage of many special offers for both adults and children.

Prices have been slashed and, as a result, season-ticket sales have so far been much higher than last year.

Manager Paul Fairclough is busy looking for new players to strengthen the squad, particularly a striker.

However, defender Nicky Nicolau has rejected a new deal and has become the latest player to leave Underhill, joining Sagi Burton, Giuliano Grazioli and Anthony Thomas who have all been shown the door. Midfielder Josh Wright has also returned to Charlton.

* Go to www.times-series.co.uk/sport for the latest Barnet FC news.