EFL Trophy group-stage opponents confirmed

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