# 1996–97 Football League Cup

The 1996–97 Football League Cup (known as the Coca-Cola Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
The tournament was won by Leicester City, who beat Middlesbrough 1–0 in the final replay at Hillsborough after finishing 1–1 at Wembley Stadium.

## First round

66 of the First, Second and Third Division clubs competed from the first round. Each section was divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depended upon their finishing position in the 1995–96 season.

### First leg

| Home team | Result | Away team | Date |
| Brentford | 1–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 20 August 1996 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 0–1 | Birmingham City | 21 August 1996 |
| Cardiff City | 1–0 | Northampton Town | 20 August 1996 |
| Carlisle United | 1–0 | Chester City | 20 August 1996 |
| Colchester United | 2–3 | West Bromwich Albion | 20 August 1996 |
| Darlington | 1–0 | Rotherham United | 20 August 1996 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1–1 | York City | 20 August 1996 |
| Exeter City | 0–4 | Barnet | 20 August 1996 |
| Hartlepool United | 2–2 | Lincoln City | 20 August 1996 |
| Hereford United | 3–0 | Cambridge United | 20 August 1996 |
| Huddersfield Town | 3–0 | Wrexham | 20 August 1996 |
| Hull City | 2–2 | Scarborough | 20 August 1996 |
| Ipswich Town | 2–1 | Bournemouth | 20 August 1996 |
| Luton Town | 3–0 | Bristol Rovers | 20 August 1996 |
| Mansfield Town | 0–3 | Burnley | 20 August 1996 |
| Millwall | 1–0 | Peterborough United | 21 August 1996 |
| Notts County | 1–1 | Bury | 20 August 1996 |
| Oldham Athletic | 0–1 | Grimsby Town | 20 August 1996 |
| Oxford United | 1–1 | Norwich City | 20 August 1996 |
| Port Vale | 1–0 | Crewe Alexandra | 20 August 1996 |
| Portsmouth | 2–0 | Leyton Orient | 20 August 1996 |
| Reading | 1–1 | Wycombe Wanderers | 20 August 1996 |
| Rochdale | 2–1 | Barnsley | 20 August 1996 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Blackpool | 20 August 1996 |
| Sheffield United | 3–0 | Bradford City | 20 August 1996 |
| Shrewsbury Town | 0–2 | Tranmere Rovers | 21 August 1996 |
| Southend United | 0–2 | Fulham | 20 August 1996 |
| Stockport County | 2–1 | Chesterfield | 20 August 1996 |
| Swansea City | 0–1 | Gillingham | 20 August 1996 |
| Swindon Town | 2–0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 20 August 1996 |
| Torquay United | 3–3 | Bristol City | 20 August 1996 |
| Walsall | 1–0 | Watford | 20 August 1996 |
| Wigan Athletic | 2–3 | Preston North End | 20 August 1996 |

### Second leg

| Home team | Result | Away team | Date | Agg. |
| Barnet | 2–0 | Exeter City | 3 September 1996 | 6–0 |
| Barnsley | 2–0 | Rochdale | 3 September 1996 | 3–2 |
| Birmingham City | 2–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 September 1996 | 3–0 |
| Blackpool | 2–0 | Scunthorpe United | 3 September 1996 | 3–2 |
| Bournemouth | 0–3 | Ipswich Town | 3 September 1996 | 1–5 |
| Bradford City | 1–2 | Sheffield United | 3 September 1996 | 1–5 |
| Bristol City | 1–0 | Torquay United | 3 September 1996 | 4–3 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2–1 | Luton Town | 4 September 1996 | 2–4 |
| Burnley | 2–0 | Mansfield Town | 3 September 1996 | 5–0 |
| Bury | 1–0 | Notts County | 3 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Cambridge United | 1–1 | Hereford United | 3 September 1996 | 1–4 |
| Chester City | 1–3 | Carlisle United | 3 September 1996 | 1–4 |
| Chesterfield | 1–2 | Stockport County | 3 September 1996 | 2–4 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 1–5 | Port Vale | 3 September 1996 | 1–6 |
| Fulham | 1–2 | Southend United | 3 September 1996 | 3–2 |
| Gillingham | 2–0 | Swansea City | 3 September 1996 | 3–0 |
| Grimsby Town | 0–1 | Oldham Athletic | 3 September 1996 | 1–1 |
| Leyton Orient | 1–0 | Portsmouth | 4 September 1996 | 1–2 |
| Lincoln City | 3–2 | Hartlepool United | 3 September 1996 | 5–4 |
| Northampton Town | 2–0 | Cardiff City | 3 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Norwich City | 2–3 | Oxford United | 4 September 1996 | 3–4 |
| Peterborough United | 2–0 | Millwall | 3 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Plymouth Argyle | 0–0 | Brentford | 3 September 1996 | 0–1 |
| Preston North End | 4–4 | Wigan Athletic | 3 September 1996 | 7–6 |
| Rotherham United | 0–1 | Darlington | 3 September 1996 | 0–2 |
| Scarborough | 3–2 | Hull City | 3 September 1996 | 5–4 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–1 | Shrewsbury Town | 3 September 1996 | 3–1 |
| Watford | 2–0 | Walsall | 3 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1–3 | Colchester United | 3 September 1996 | 4–5 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | Swindon Town | 4 September 1996 | 1–2 |
| Wrexham | 1–2 | Huddersfield Town | 3 September 1996 | 1–5 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2–0 | Reading | 3 September 1996 | 3–1 |
| York City | 2–0 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 September 1996 | 3–1 |

## Second round

The 33 winners from the first round joined the 15 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition plus the 3 non-promoted play-off teams from the First Division and the 3 relegated clubs from the Premier League in the 1995–96 season in round two. First leg matches were played on the 17 and 18 September, second leg matches were played on 24 and 25 September.

### First leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Barnet | 1–1 | West Ham United | 18 September 1996 |
| Barnsley | 1–1 | Gillingham | 17 September 1996 |
| Blackpool | 1–4 | Chelsea | 18 September 1996 |
| Brentford | 1–2 | Blackburn Rovers | 17 September 1996 |
| Bristol City | 0–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 18 September 1996 |
| Bury | 1–3 | Crystal Palace | 17 September 1996 |
| Charlton Athletic | 4–1 | Burnley | 17 September 1996 |
| Coventry City | 1–1 | Birmingham City | 18 September 1996 |
| Everton | 1–1 | York City | 18 September 1996 |
| Fulham | 1–1 | Ipswich Town | 17 September 1996 |
| Huddersfield Town | 1–1 | Colchester United | 17 September 1996 |
| Leeds United | 2–2 | Darlington | 18 September 1996 |
| Lincoln City | 4–1 | Manchester City | 17 September 1996 |
| Luton Town | 1–0 | Derby County | 17 September 1996 |
| Middlesbrough | 7–0 | Hereford United | 18 September 1996 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–0 | Wycombe Wanderers | 18 September 1996 |
| Oldham Athletic | 2–2 | Tranmere Rovers | 17 September 1996 |
| Port Vale | 1–0 | Carlisle United | 17 September 1996 |
| Preston North End | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 September 1996 |
| Scarborough | 0–2 | Leicester City | 17 September 1996 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | Oxford United | 18 September 1996 |
| Southampton | 2–0 | Peterborough United | 18 September 1996 |
| Stockport County | 2–1 | Sheffield United | 17 September 1996 |
| Stoke City | 1–0 | Northampton Town | 18 September 1996 |
| Swindon Town | 1–2 | Queens Park Rangers | 18 September 1996 |
| Watford | 0–2 | Sunderland | 17 September 1996 |
| Wimbledon | 1–0 | Portsmouth | 18 September 1996 |

### Second leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date | Agg |
| Birmingham City | 0–1 | Coventry City | 24 September 1996 | 1–2 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2–0 | Brentford | 24 September 1996 | 4–1 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 3–1 | Bristol City | 24 September 1996 | 3–1 |
| Burnley | 1–2 | Charlton Athletic | 24 September 1996 | 2–6 |
| Carlisle United | 2–2 | Port Vale | 24 September 1996 | 2–3 |
| Chelsea | 1–3 | Blackpool | 25 September 1996 | 5–4 |
| Colchester United | 0–2 | Huddersfield Town | 24 September 1996 | 1–3 |
| Crystal Palace | 4–0 | Bury | 24 September 1996 | 7–1 |
| Darlington | 0–2 | Leeds United | 24 September 1996 | 2–4 |
| Derby County | 2–2 | Luton Town | 25 September 1996 | 2–3 |
| Gillingham | 1–0 | Barnsley | 24 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Hereford United | 0–3 | Middlesbrough | 24 September 1996 | 0–10 |
| Ipswich Town | 4–2 | Fulham | 24 September 1996 | 5–3 |
| Leicester City | 2–1 | Scarborough | 25 September 1996 | 4–1 |
| Manchester City | 0–1 | Lincoln City | 24 September 1996 | 1–5 |
| Northampton Town | 1–2 | Stoke City | 24 September 1996 | 1–3 |
| Oxford United | 1–0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 24 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Peterborough United | 1–4 | Southampton | 25 September 1996 | 1–6 |
| Portsmouth | 1–1 | Wimbledon | 25 September 1996 | 1–2 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 1–3 | Swindon Town | 25 September 1996 | 3–4 |
| Sheffield United | 2–5 | Stockport County | 24 September 1996 | 3–7 |
| Sunderland | 1–0 | Watford | 24 September 1996 | 3–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–0 | Preston North End | 25 September 1996 | 4–1 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 0–1 | Oldham Athletic | 24 September 1996 | 2–3 |
| West Ham United | 1–0 | Barnet | 25 September 1996 | 2–1 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | Nottingham Forest | 24 September 1996 | 1–2 |
| York City | 3–2 | Everton | 24 September 1996 | 4–3 |

## Third round

The 27 winners from the second round joined the five Premiership clubs participating in European competition in round three. Matches were played on 22 and 23 October.

### Ties

| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | Stockport County | 22 October 1996 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–1 | Chelsea | 22 October 1996 |
| Gillingham | 2–2 | Coventry City | 22 October 1996 |
| Ipswich Town | 4–1 | Crystal Palace | 22 October 1996 |
| Wimbledon | 1–1 | Luton Town | 22 October 1996 |
| Port Vale | 0–0 | Oxford United | 22 October 1996 |
| York City | 0–2 | Leicester City | 22 October 1996 |
| Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | Liverpool | 23 October 1996 |
| Leeds United | 1–2 | Aston Villa | 23 October 1996 |
| Manchester United | 2–1 | Swindon Town | 23 October 1996 |
| Middlesbrough | 5–1 | Huddersfield Town | 23 October 1996 |
| Newcastle United | 1–0 | Oldham Athletic | 23 October 1996 |
| Southampton | 1–1 | Lincoln City | 23 October 1996 |
| Stoke City | 1–1 | Arsenal | 23 October 1996 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Sunderland | 23 October 1996 |
| West Ham United | 4–1 | Nottingham Forest | 23 October 1996 |

### Replays

| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| Coventry City | 0–1 | Gillingham | 13 November 1996 |
| Luton Town | 1–2 | Wimbledon | 12 November 1996 |
| Oxford United | 2–0 | Port Vale | 5 November 1996 |
| Liverpool | 4–1 | Charlton Athletic | 13 November 1996 |
| Lincoln City | 1–3 | Southampton | 12 November 1996 |
| Arsenal | 5–2 | Stoke City | 13 November 1996 |

## Fourth round

Most matches were played on 26 November 27 November with two replays being played on 18 December.

### Replays
## Quarter-finals

The four matches were played between 8 and 29 January.

### Replay
## Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in January 1997 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The first leg matches were played on 18 and 26 February 1997, the second leg matches were played on 11 and 12 March 1997. Leicester City went through on away goals to reach their first cup final in 28 years at the expense of Wimbledon, while Division Two underdogs Stockport gave Middlesbrough a run for their money, going out by a single goal.

### Second leg

Leicester City win on away goals
Middlesbrough win 2–1 on aggregate

## Final

The 1997 Coca-Cola Cup Final was played on 6 April 1997 and was contested between Leicester City and Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium. Leicester won 1–0 in the replay at Hillsborough on 16 April 1997. This was the last year that the Football League Cup Final was decided by a replay.