# 2020–21 FA Women's League Cup

The 2020–21 FA Women's League Cup was the tenth edition of the FA Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship's league cup competition. It was sponsored by Continental AG, who sponsored the competition since its creation, and is officially known as the FA Women's Continental League Cup for sponsorship reasons. All 23 teams from the FA Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship contested the competition. Chelsea were the defending champions and successfully defended the title by beating Bristol City in the final.

## Format changes

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the 2020–21 season was delayed, forcing many leagues and competitions to shorten their format. To reduce the total number of games, the previous format of four groups of six (with one being reduced in size by one to suit the total of 23 teams) was altered to six groups of four (with one short again), reducing the number of group stage games from five each to three each. With six group winners now, only the two best second place teams qualified for the knock-out round.

## Group stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AST | DUR | SHU | COV |
| 1 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 8 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | — | 1–0 | — |
| 2 | Durham | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 7 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | 1–1 | — | — | 5–2 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | | — | 0–6 | — | — |
| 4 | Coventry United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 | | 0–9 | — | 0–4 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CHE | ARS | TOT | LCL |
| 1 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | 4–1 | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | Arsenal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 5 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | — | — | 2–2 | — |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 4 | London City Lionesses | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 | | C–C | 0–4 | — | — |
* ↑ Match originally postponed following three positive COVID-19 tests by London City Lionesses players. An independent tribunal determined the fixture would not be rescheduled as it would have no effect on qualifying.

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MCI | EVE | LIV | MNU |
| 1 | Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | 3–1 | — | — |
| 2 | Everton | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | | 0–3 | — | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | | 0–0 | — | — | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WHU | REA | BHA | CHA |
| 1 | West Ham United | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 8 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | 3–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Reading | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 | | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | — |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 | | 0–4 | — | C–C | — |
* ↑ Match originally postponed following positive COVID-19 test by Brighton staff. An independent tribunal determined the fixture would not be rescheduled as it would have no effect on qualifying.

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LEI | BIR | BLB |
| 1 | Leicester City | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | — | 5–2 |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | 0–0 | — | — |
| 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | | — | 0–1 | — |

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BRI | CRY | LON | LEW |
| 1 | Bristol City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 | Advanced to knock-out stage | — | — | 4–0 | — |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 6 | Possible knock-out stage based on ranking | 2–4 | — | 6–1 | — |
| 3 | London Bees | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 3 | | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Lewes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | — |

### Ranking of second-placed teams

Due to Group E containing one fewer team, the ranking to determine which two second-placed teams progress is calculated on a points-per-game basis.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | A | Durham | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 7 | 2.33 | Advanced to knock-out stage |
| 2 | F | Crystal Palace | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 6 | 2.00 | Advanced to knock-out stage |
| 3 | D | Reading | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | 2.00 | |
| 4 | E | Birmingham City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 2.00 | |
| 5 | C | Everton | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2.00 | |
| 6 | B | Arsenal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 5 | 1.67 | |

## Knock-out stage
### Quarter-finals

The draw for this round was made live on BT Sport Score on 19 December 2020. The two teams that qualified as best placed runners-up could not be drawn against the teams that topped their respective groups meaning Bristol City were not eligible to face Crystal Palace and Durham could not be drawn with Aston Villa. Manchester City's match against Chelsea was postponed following a COVID-19 outbreak in the Manchester City first-team squad.

### Final

On 28 January, it was announced the 2021 FA Women's League Cup Final would be held at Vicarage Road, the home of Watford FC, for the first time. The game was televised live domestically on BT Sport 2 and internationally via the FA's own streaming service the FA Player.