2016–17 EFL Cup

2016–17 EFL Cup
League Cup
Country England
Wales
Dates August 2016  February 2017
Teams 92
Matches played 88
Goals scored 280 (3.18 per match)
All statistics correct as of 30 November 2016.

The 2016–17 EFL Cup is the 57th season of the EFL Cup, formerly known as the Football League Cup, featuring all 92 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). It began on the week commencing 8 August 2016 and concludes with the final on 26 February 2017.[1] The cup does not have a sponsor following the withdrawal of sponsorship from Capital One after four years as the Capital One Cup,[2] but is renamed the EFL Cup after the Football League was rebranded as the EFL.[3]

The winners will qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. Manchester City were the defending champions,[4] but they were eliminated by Manchester United in the fourth round.

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 clubs remain by the third round.[5] Clubs involved in European competition during the season receive a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League clubs enter at the second round, and the remaining Football League clubs 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 club playing one leg at home, and the club 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-minute 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 the away goals rule. If the tie is not decided during extra time, it will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

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

Club allocation

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

Distribution

The tournament is organised so that 32 clubs remain by the third round.[5] Seventy of the seventy-two clubs in the English Football League (tiers 2–4) enter in the first round. In the second round, the thirteen Premier League clubs not involved in European competition as well as the two highest-ranked Championship clubs from 2015–16 (Newcastle United and Norwich City) 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 clubs involved in European competition enter the competition.

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

Round and draw dates

The schedule is as follows.[7]

Round Draw date First leg Second leg
First round 22 June 2016 9/10/11 August 2016
Second round 10 August 2016 23/24 August 2016
Third round 24 August 2016 20/21 September 2016
Fourth round 21 September 2016 25/26 October 2016
Fifth round 26 October 2016 29/30 November 2016
Semi-finals 30 November 2016 10/11 January 2017 24/25 January 2017
Final January 2017 26 February 2017[8]

First round

Entry

A total of 70 clubs will play in the first round: 24 from League Two (tier 4), 24 from League One (tier 3), and 22 from the Championship (tier 2). The draw for this round is split on a geographical basis into 'northern' and 'southern' sections. Teams are drawn against a team from the same section.

Matches

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Second round

Entry

A total of 50 clubs play in the second round: 15 that enter in this round and the 35 winners from the first round. The 15 entering this round include the 13 clubs from the 2016–17 Premier League not involved in any European competition, plus the 18th and 19th placed teams from last season's Premier League. The draw for the second round was held on 10 August 2016 [9]

Matches

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Third round

Teams

A total of 32 teams compete in the third round, seven that enter in this round and the 25 winners from the second round. The seven teams entering in this round are the clubs from the 2016–17 Premier League involved in European competition in the 2016–17 season. There is no seeding in this round.

Matches

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Fourth round

Teams

A total of 16 clubs play in the fourth round, all winners of the third round. There was no seeding in this round.[10] The draw was held on 21 September 2016.[11]

Matches

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Fifth round

Teams

A total of eight clubs play in the fifth round, all winners of the fourth round. There was no seeding in this round and the draw was held on 26 October following the conclusion of the tie between Manchester United and Manchester City in the previous round.[12]

Matches

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Semi-finals

Teams

A total of four clubs play in the semi-finals, all winners of the fifth round. There is no seeding in this round and the draw was held on 30 November.[13]

Matches

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.

First leg

The first leg matches will be played in the week commencing 9 January 2017.

Second leg

The second leg matches will be played the week commencing 23 January 2017.

Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2016–17 season.

Final

The League Cup Final will be held on 26 February 2017 at Wembley Stadium.

Top goalscorers

As of 30 November 2016[14]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Daniel Sturridge Liverpool 4
2 England Tammy Abraham Bristol City 3
England Dean Bowditch Milton Keynes Dons
England Peter Crouch Stoke City
Senegal Mohamed Diamé Newcastle United
England Jack Dunn Morecambe
Denmark Simon Makienok Preston North End
Spain Ayoze Pérez Newcastle United
Belgium Divock Origi Liverpool
England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Arsenal
Brazil Sandro Queens Park Rangers
New Zealand Chris Wood Leeds United

References

  1. "Key Dates". Football League. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  2. Sale, Charles (2015-05-25). "Football League left reeling by loss of Capital One as major sponsor of flagship Cup competition". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  3. Press Association (2015-11-12). "Goodbye Football League, hello English Football League: rebranding announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  4. 1 2 "Premier League and Football League: Ups & downs and European qualification". BBC Sport. 2016-05-22. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The Football League Cup". soccer.mistral.co.uk. SoccerData. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  6. Smith, Peter. "Champions League and Europa League qualification for Premier League teams explained". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  7. http://cup.efl.com/fixtures-results/competition-round-dates/
  8. "Next season all mapped out ...". Evostikleague.co.uk. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  9. "EFL Cup 2016/17 Round 2 Draw". cup.efl.co.uk. The Football League. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  10. "Draw EFL Cup round four". cup.efl..com. EFL. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  11. "EFL Cup draw: Manchester United face Manchester City, Liverpool host Spurs". Guardian. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  12. "Draw EFL Cup round four". cup.efl..com. EFL. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. "Draw EFL Cup Semi-Final draw". cup.efl.com. EFL. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  14. "English League Cup 2016/2017: Top Scorers". World Football. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
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