EFL Trophy group-stage opponents confirmed | News
The group-stage draw for the EFL Trophy took place on Thursday afternoon, as our under-21s found out their opponents for 2026/27.
Known as the Vertu Trophy, our under-21s will face London sides AFC Wimbledon, Leyton Orient and Barnet in Group F (Southern) of the competition.
In 2025/26, we staged a dramatic comeback to beat Newport County 2-1, before narrowly losing to Exeter City and Cardiff City to exit the group stage.
Our best run came in 2021/22, under Kevin Betsy, when we reached the quarter-final stage, before suffering a 1-0 defeat to League One side Wigan Athletic.
All first group-stage will get underway in September 2026, with a full breakdown of fixtures to follow.
Should we progress beyond the group stage, the knockout stage schedule is as follows:
Round of 16 – week commencing December 7, 2026
Quarter-final – week commencing January 11, 2027
Semi-final – week commencing March 8, 2027
Final – Sunday, April 11, 2027
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