# 1970–71 Football League Cup

The 1970–71 Football League Cup was the 11th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The tournament started on 17 August 1970 and ended with the final at Wembley on 27 February 1971.
Tottenham Hotspur won the tournament after defeating Aston Villa in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. This was to be the last season in which it wasn't compulsory to enter the tournament. The only team who did not enter in 1970–71 was Everton, the previous season's league champions. After 1971–72 entry to the tournament became compulsory.

## Calendar

Of the 91 teams, 37 received a bye to the second round (teams ranked 2nd–38th in the 1969–70 Football League) and the other 54 played in the first round. Semi-finals were two-legged.
| Round | Main date | Fixtures | Fixtures | Clubs | New entries this round |
| Round | Main date | Original | Replays | Clubs | New entries this round |
| First Round | 19 August 1970 | 27 | 5 | 91 → 64 | 54 (teams ranked 17th–22nd in Second Division; all Third and Fourth Division) |
| Second Round | 9 September 1970 | 32 | 12 | 64 → 32 | 37 (teams ranked 1st–16th in Second Division; all First Division except Everton) |
| Third Round | 7 October 1970 | 16 | 3 | 32 → 16 | none |
| Fourth Round | 28 October 1970 | 8 | 4 | 16 → 8 | none |
| Fifth Round | 17/18 November 1970 | 4 | 2 | 8 → 4 | none |
| Semi-finals | 16 & 23 December 1970 | 4 | 0 | 4 → 2 | none |
| Final | 27 February 1971 | 1 | 0 | 2 → 1 | none |

## First round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aldershot | 1–0 | Brentford | 18 August 1970 |
| Aston Villa | 4–0 | Notts County | 18 August 1970 |
| Barnsley | 0–1 | Rotherham United | 19 August 1970 |
| Birmingham City | 3–3 | Wrexham | 17 August 1970 |
| Bristol Rovers | 1–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 17 August 1970 |
| Bury | 1–3 | Oldham Athletic | 17 August 1970 |
| Charlton Athletic | 3–0 | Southend United | 17 August 1970 |
| Chester | 2–1 | Shrewsbury Town | 19 August 1970 |
| Colchester United | 5–0 | Cambridge United | 19 August 1970 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 2–2 | Tranmere Rovers | 18 August 1970 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1–1 | Darlington | 19 August 1970 |
| Exeter City | 0–0 | Swansea City | 17 August 1970 |
| Fulham | 1–0 | Orient | 19 August 1970 |
| Gillingham | 0–1 | Luton Town | 19 August 1970 |
| Halifax Town | 3–2 | Bradford City | 19 August 1970 |
| Hartlepool | 2–3 | York City | 19 August 1970 |
| Lincoln City | 2–1 | Grimsby Town | 19 August 1970 |
| Mansfield Town | 6–2 | Chesterfield | 19 August 1970 |
| Newport County | 2–1 | Reading | 19 August 1970 |
| Port Vale | 0–1 | Walsall | 17 August 1970 |
| Portsmouth | 2–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 19 August 1970 |
| Rochdale | 1–0 | Southport | 19 August 1970 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–3 | Northampton Town | 19 August 1970 |
| Stockport County | 0–1 | Preston North End | 19 August 1970 |
| Torquay United | 1–1 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 18 August 1970 |
| Watford | 2–0 | Peterborough United | 18 August 1970 |
| Workington | 2–0 | Barrow | 18 August 1970 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 1–2 | Torquay United | 26 August 1970 |
| Darlington | 3–1 | Doncaster Rovers | 24 August 1970 |
| Swansea City | 4–2 | Exeter City | 25 August 1970 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 4–0 | Crewe Alexandra | 24 August 1970 |
| Wrexham | 2–3 | Birmingham City | 26 August 1970 |

## Second round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aldershot | 1–3 | Manchester United | 9 September 1970 |
| Aston Villa | 2–0 | Burnley | 9 September 1970 |
| Blackpool | 4–1 | Newport County | 9 September 1970 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 9 September 1970 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2–1 | Newcastle United | 8 September 1970 |
| Carlisle United | 2–1 | Manchester City | 9 September 1970 |
| Colchester United | 1–1 | Birmingham City | 9 September 1970 |
| Crystal Palace | 3–3 | Rochdale | 9 September 1970 |
| Darlington | 0–4 | Fulham | 9 September 1970 |
| Derby County | 3–1 | Halifax Town | 8 September 1970 |
| Huddersfield Town | 0–0 | Nottingham Forest | 9 September 1970 |
| Ipswich Town | 0–0 | Arsenal | 8 September 1970 |
| Leicester City | 3–2 | Southampton | 9 September 1970 |
| Lincoln City | 2–1 | Sunderland | 9 September 1970 |
| Luton Town | 3–0 | Workington | 8 September 1970 |
| Mansfield Town | 0–0 | Liverpool | 8 September 1970 |
| Norwich City | 0–0 | Chester | 9 September 1970 |
| Oldham Athletic | 2–4 | Middlesbrough | 8 September 1970 |
| Oxford United | 1–0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 9 September 1970 |
| Portsmouth | 1–0 | Walsall | 9 September 1970 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 4–0 | Cardiff City | 8 September 1970 |
| Rotherham United | 0–0 | Bristol City | 8 September 1970 |
| Sheffield United | 1–0 | Leeds United | 8 September 1970 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | Chelsea | 9 September 1970 |
| Stoke City | 0–0 | Millwall | 9 September 1970 |
| Swindon Town | 4–2 | Watford | 8 September 1970 |
| Torquay United | 1–3 | Preston North End | 9 September 1970 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–0 | Swansea City | 9 September 1970 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–1 | Coventry City | 9 September 1970 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 3–1 | Charlton Athletic | 8 September 1970 |
| West Ham United | 1–0 | Hull City | 9 September 1970 |
| York City | 0–0 | Northampton Town | 9 September 1970 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Arsenal | 4–0 | Ipswich Town | 28 September 1970 |
| Birmingham City | 2–1 | Colchester United | 15 September 1970 |
| Bristol City | 4–0 | Rotherham United | 15 September 1970 |
| Chelsea | 2–1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 22 September 1970 |
| Chester | 1–2 | Norwich City | 16 September 1970 |
| Coventry City | 2–1 | Tranmere Rovers | 22 September 1970 |
| Liverpool | 3–2 | Mansfield Town | 22 September 1970 |
| Millwall | 2–1 | Stoke City | 21 September 1970 |
| Northampton Town | 1–1 | York City | 15 September 1970 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2–0 | Huddersfield Town | 21 September 1970 |
| Rochdale | 1–3 | Crystal Palace | 14 September 1970 |

### Second Replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| York City | 1–2 | Northampton Town | 28 September 1970 |

## Third round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Birmingham City | 2–1 | Nottingham Forest | 6 October 1970 |
| Blackpool | 0–1 | Bristol City | 7 October 1970 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–1 | Leicester City | 7 October 1970 |
| Carlisle United | 3–1 | Oxford United | 6 October 1970 |
| Chelsea | 3–2 | Middlesbrough | 7 October 1970 |
| Coventry City | 3–1 | West Ham United | 6 October 1970 |
| Crystal Palace | 4–0 | Lincoln City | 7 October 1970 |
| Derby County | 4–2 | Millwall | 7 October 1970 |
| Fulham | 2–0 | Queens Park Rangers | 6 October 1970 |
| Luton Town | 0–1 | Arsenal | 6 October 1970 |
| Manchester United | 1–0 | Portsmouth | 7 October 1970 |
| Northampton Town | 1–1 | Aston Villa | 6 October 1970 |
| Norwich City | 1–1 | Bristol Rovers | 7 October 1970 |
| Preston North End | 0–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 6 October 1970 |
| Swindon Town | 2–0 | Liverpool | 6 October 1970 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Sheffield United | 7 October 1970 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aston Villa | 3–0 | Northampton Town | 13 October 1970 |
| Bristol Rovers | 3–1 | Norwich City | 13 October 1970 |
| Leicester City | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 12 October 1970 |

## Fourth round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aston Villa | 1–0 | Carlisle United | 28 October 1970 |
| Bristol Rovers | 3–0 | Birmingham City | 27 October 1970 |
| Coventry City | 1–0 | Derby County | 27 October 1970 |
| Crystal Palace | 0–0 | Arsenal | 28 October 1970 |
| Fulham | 1–0 | Swindon Town | 27 October 1970 |
| Leicester City | 2–2 | Bristol City | 28 October 1970 |
| Manchester United | 2–1 | Chelsea | 28 October 1970 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 5–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 October 1970 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Bristol City | 2–1 | Leicester City | 3 November 1970 |
| Arsenal | 0–2 | Crystal Palace | 9 November 1970 |

## Fifth Round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Bristol Rovers | 1–1 | Aston Villa | 17 November 1970 |
| Fulham | 0–0 | Bristol City | 17 November 1970 |
| Manchester United | 4–2 | Crystal Palace | 18 November 1970 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4–1 | Coventry City | 18 November 1970 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aston Villa | 1–0 | Bristol Rovers | 25 November 1970 |
| Bristol City | 1–0 | Fulham | 24 November 1970 |

## Semi-finals
### First leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Bristol City | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 December 1970 |
| Manchester United | 1–1 | Aston Villa | 16 December 1970 |

### Second leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date | Agg |
| Aston Villa | 2–1 | Manchester United | 23 December 1970 | 3–2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Bristol City | 23 December 1970 | 3–1 |

## Final

The final was held at Wembley Stadium, London on 27 February 1971.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: :
| 1 | Pat Jennings |
| 2 | Joe Kinnear |
| 3 | Cyril Knowles |
| 4 | Alan Mullery (c) |
| 5 | Peter Collins |
| 6 | Phil Beal |
| 7 | Alan Gilzean |
| 8 | Steve Perryman |
| 9 | Martin Chivers |
| 10 | Martin Peters |
| 11 | Jimmy Neighbour |
| Substitute: |||
| 12 | Jimmy Pearce |
| Manager: ||||
| Bill Nicholson ||||
ASTON VILLA: :
| 1 | John Dunn |
| 2 | Keith Bradley |
| 3 | Charlie Aitken |
| 4 | Brian Godfrey (c) |
| 5 | Fred Turnbull |
| 6 | Brian Tiler |
| 7 | Pat McMahon |
| 8 | Bruce Rioch |
| 9 | Andy Lochhead |
| 10 | Ian Hamilton |
| 11 | Willie Anderson |
| Substitute: |||
| 12 | Dave Gibson |
| Manager: ||||
| Vic Crowe ||||