Papa John’s Trophy 2021/22: The Group Stage
The 16 Invited U21 teams will be placed into their respective Northern and Southern section Groups, with the 48 EFL Clubs placed into pre-determined Groups, which are as follows:
Northern Groups
| Group A |
| Carlisle United |
| Hartlepool United |
| Morecambe |
| Group B |
| Oldham Athletic |
| Tranmere Rovers |
| Salford City |
| Group C |
| Wigan Athletic |
| Crewe Alexandra |
| Shrewsbury Town |
| Group D |
| Port Vale |
| Rochdale |
| Bolton Wanderers |
| Group E |
| Rotherham United |
| Doncaster Rovers |
| Scunthorpe United |
| Group F |
| Bradford City |
| Lincoln City |
| Sunderland |
| Group G |
| Accrington Stanley |
| Barrow |
| Fleetwood Town |
| Group H |
| Sheffield Wednesday |
| Harrogate Town |
| Mansfield Town |
Invited Clubs
|
1 |
Everton U21
|
| 2 | Leeds United U21
|
|
3 |
Leicester City U21
|
|
4 |
Liverpool U21
|
|
5 |
Manchester City U21
|
|
6 |
Manchester United U21
|
|
7 |
Newcastle United U21
|
|
8 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21
|
Southern Groups
| Group A |
| Colchester United |
| Gillingham |
| Ipswich Town |
| Group B |
| AFC Wimbledon |
| Portsmouth |
| Sutton United |
| Group C |
| Milton Keynes Dons |
| Burton Albion |
| Wycombe Wanderers |
| Group D |
| Forest Green Rovers |
| Northampton Town |
| Walsall |
| Group E |
| Exeter City |
| Bristol Rovers |
| Cheltenham Town |
| Group F |
| Swindon Town |
| Newport County |
| Plymouth Argyle |
| Group G |
| Crawley Town |
| Charlton Athletic |
| Leyton Orient |
| Group H |
| Oxford United |
| Cambridge United |
| Stevenage |
Invited Clubs
|
1 |
Arsenal U21
|
|
2 |
Aston Villa U21
|
|
3 |
Brighton & Hove Albion U21
|
|
4 |
Chelsea U21
|
|
5 |
Crystal Palace U21
|
|
6 |
Southampton U21
|
|
7 |
Tottenham Hotspur U21
|
| 8 | West Ham United U21 |
The Round One draw will take place live on Sky Sports at 4:30pm.