# 2021–22 Premier League Cup

The 2021–22 Premier League Cup was the eighth edition of the competition. The defending champions, Everton, who won the 2018–19 competition, were eliminated in the group stage. The previous two editions of the competition were cancelled, or not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

## Participants

36 teams participated in the competition this year, 4 fewer than in 2019-2020. Cambridge United, Crystal Palace, Fleetwood Town, Scunthorpe United, Shrewsbury Town, and Yeovil Town did not after participating in last year's competition after one season, meanwhile Aston Villa, Bristol Rovers, Liverpool, Newport County, and Portsmouth did not return after 3, 3, 5, 2, and 4 straight seasons in the competition respectively. Finally, Hull City did not return after 7 straight seasons in the competition.
5 teams returned to the competition this season. Arsenal returned for the first time since the inaugural competition in 2013-2014, Queens Park Rangers returned for the first time since 2015-2016, West Ham United for the first time since 2016-2017, and Norwich City and Peterborough United returned after missing 2019-2020's competition. 3 teams, Mansfield Town, Salford City, and Stevenage participated for the very first time in the competition this season.

## Qualifying round

A qualifying round was required to finalise the 32 teams that would enter the Group Stage.

## Group stage

The draw for the group stage took place on 25 August 2021. Teams play each other twice, with the group winners and runners–up advance to the round of 16.

### Group A

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| West Bromwich Albion | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 13 |
| Arsenal | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 8 |
| AFC Bournemouth | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 8 |
| Southampton | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 3 |

### Group B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Middlesbrough | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 9 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 9 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| Nottingham Forest | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 9 |

### Group C

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Derby County | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 16 |
| Charlton Athletic | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 10 |
| Norwich City | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 5 |
| Reading | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 3 |

### Group D

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Peterborough United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 |
| Sheffield United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 10 |
| Everton | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 9 |
| Burnley | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 |

### Group E

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Wigan Athletic | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 13 |
| Leeds United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| Sunderland | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 6 |
| Mansfield Town | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 5 |

### Group F

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| West Ham United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 13 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 11 |
| Exeter City | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 5 |
| Swansea City | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 3 |

### Group G

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Huddersfield Town | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 | +14 | 16 |
| Newcastle United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 10 |
| Watford | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 6 |
| Birmingham City | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 15 | −9 | 3 |

### Group H

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Fulham | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 16 |
| Stoke City | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 9 |
| Colchester United | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 |
| Southend United | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 4 |

## Knockout stages
### Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 took place on 1 March 2022.

### Quarter–final

The quarter-final draw was confirmed on 21 March 2022.

### Semi–final

The semi-final draw was announced on 26 April 2022.

### Final

The final details were announced on 6 May 2022, with West Bromwich Albion being picked as the home team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
West Bromwich Albion :
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ted Cann |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Reece Hall |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Caleb Taylor |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Cianole Nguepissi |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Ethan Ingram |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Aurio Teixeira |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Jamie Andrews |
| 8 | DF | WAL | Zac Ashworth |
| 9 | MF | ENG | Tom Fellows |
| 10 | FW | GAM | Modou Faal |
| 11 | FW | POR | Quevin Castro |
| Substitutes: ||||
| 12 | GK | WAL | Ronnie Hollingshead |
| 13 | DF | ENG | Alex Williams |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Richards |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Rico Richards |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Jovan Malcolm |
| Coach: Deon Burton ||||
Wolverhampton Wanderers :
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | DEN | Andreas Söndergaard |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Dexter Lembikisa |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Hugo Bueno |
| 4 | DF | COL | Yerson Mosquera |
| 5 | DF | POR | Christian Marques |
| 6 | DF | NED | Justin Hubner |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Luke Cundle |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Harvey Griffiths |
| 9 | FW | NIR | Lee Harkin |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Joe Hodge |
| 11 | FW | WAL | Chem Campbell |
| Substitutes: ||||
| 12 | DF | ENG | Ollie Tipton |
| 13 | DF | SGP | Harry Birtwistle |
| 14 | MF | WAL | Owen Hesketh |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Taylor Perry |
| 16 | MF | GER | Meritan Shabani |
| Coach: Jamie Collins ||||