2016–17 Football League Cup

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2016–17 Football League Cup
League Cup
Country England
Wales
Dates August 2016 –
February 2017
Teams 92

The 2016–17 Football League Cup will be the 57th season of the Football League Cup featuring all 92 teams from the Premier League and the English Football League. It will begin on the week commencing 8 August 2016 and conclude with the final on 28 February 2017.[1] The cup will revert to the name of the Football League Cup following the withdrawal of sponsorship from Capital One after four years as the Capital One Cup.[2] This will be the first Football League Cup since The Football League was rebranded as the English Football League.[3]

The winners will qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. Manchester City are the defending champions.[4]

Format

The League Cup is open to all 92 members of the Premier League and the English Football League and is divided into seven rounds, organised so that 32 teams remain by the third round.[5] Teams involved in European competition during the season receive a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League teams enter at the second round, and the remaining Football League teams enter at the first round.[5]

The League Cup is played as a knockout cup competition with each tie, except semi-finals, being played as a single match with the winner advancing to the next round. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the finals. If the score is level after 90 minutes, or if the aggregate score is level for semi-finals, then thirty minutes of extra time is played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. If the aggregate scores in semi-finals are still level at the end of extra time the tie shall be decided by goals scored away from home counting twice, according to away goals rule. If the tie has not been decided during extra time, it will be decided by penalty shoot-out.

In the first five rounds, the team drawn first will play at home ground, and in the semi-finals the team drawn first will play the first leg at home. The final shall be played on a neutral ground.

Team allocation

A total of 92 teams from the top four English tiers (Premier League, Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two) participate in the 2016–17 Football League Cup.

Distribution

The tournament is organised so that 32 teams remain by the third round.[5] All clubs in The Football League (tiers 2-4) enter in the first round. In the second round, the thirteen Premier League clubs not involved in European competition enter the cup[5] with; Arsenal, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester United, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all receiving a bye to the third round.[4][6] In the third round the aforementioned teams involved in European competition enter the competition.

  • Teams involved in European competition enter at the third round.
  • The remaining Premier League teams enter at the second round.
  • The remaining Football League teams enter at the first round.
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First round
(70 teams)
  • 24 teams from Football League Two
  • 24 teams from Football League One
  • 22 teams from Football League Championship
Second round
(48 teams)
  • 2 teams from Football League Championship
  • 13 Premier League teams (not involved in European competition)
  • 35 winners from first round
Third round
(32 teams)
  • 7 Premier League teams (involved in European competition)
  • 25 winners from second round
Fourth round
(16 teams)
  • 16 winners from third round
Fifth round
(8 teams)
  • 8 winners from fourth round
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • 4 winners from fifth round
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winners from semi-finals

Round and draw dates

The schedule are as follows.

Round Draw date First leg Second leg
First round 8 August 2016
Second round 22 August 2016
Third round 19 September 2016
Fourth round 24 October 2016
Fifth round 28 November 2016
Semi-finals 9 January 2017 23 January 2017
Final 26 February 2017[7]

Note: Matches are played the week commencing on dates above, except the final which is fixed on Sunday 26 February 2017.

First round

Entry

A total of 72 teams played in the first round: 24 teams from League Two (tier 4), 24 teams from League One (tier 3), and 24 teams from the Championship (tier 2).


References

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