# 2017–18 EFL Trophy

The 2017–18 EFL Trophy, known as the Checkatrade Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football system, and also including 16 Premier League and Championship "B teams" with Category One status after the previous season's trial format was extended.
Following the new format introduced in 2016–17, 64 teams entered the competition, including first time entries from the academy teams of Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, who all declined to enter in the previous season. Coventry City were the reigning champions, but were eliminated in the group stage on 7 November.

## Participating clubs

* 48 clubs from League One and League Two.
* 16 invited Category One Academy teams.
* Category One teams relegated to League One missed out on having academies participate in the following tournament.
| | League One | League Two | Academies |
| Clubs | AFC Wimbledon Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bradford City Bristol Rovers Bury Charlton Athletic Doncaster Rovers Fleetwood Town Gillingham Milton Keynes Dons Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Rochdale Rotherham United Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southend United Walsall Wigan Athletic | Accrington Stanley Barnet Cambridge United Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Chesterfield Colchester United Coventry City Crawley Town Crewe Alexandra Exeter City Forest Green Rovers Grimsby Town Lincoln City Luton Town Mansfield Town Morecambe Newport County Notts County Port Vale Stevenage Swindon Town Wycombe Wanderers Yeovil Town | Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Everton Fulham Leicester City Manchester City Middlesbrough Newcastle United Reading Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 16 |

### Notes

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United declined to participate.

## Eligibility criteria for players

* For EFL clubs; a minimum of 5 'First Team' players in the starting 11 as defined under the competition's existing rules.
* For invited clubs – 6 of the starting 11 to be U21 (as at 30 June 2016).

## Competition format
### Group stage

* Sixteen groups of 4 teams will be organised on a regionalised basis.
* All groups will include one invited club.
* All clubs will play each other once, either home or away (Academies play all group matches away from home).
* Clubs will be awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
* In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shootout will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.
* The top two teams will progress to the Knockout Stage.

#### Northern Section
##### Group A

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Fleetwood Town (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Leicester City U21 (Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Carlisle United (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Morecambe (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 2 | |

##### Group B

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Blackpool (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Accrington Stanley (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Wigan Athletic (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 5 | |
| 4 | ACA | Middlesbrough U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 0 | |

##### Group C

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Rochdale (Q) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Bury (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Blackburn Rovers (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Stoke City U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | |

##### Group D

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Port Vale (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 8 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Oldham Athletic (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Newcastle United U21 (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Crewe Alexandra (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 0 | |

##### Group E

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Walsall (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Shrewsbury Town (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Coventry City (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | ACA | West Bromwich Albion U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | |

##### Group F

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Bradford City (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Chesterfield (Q) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Rotherham United (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Manchester City EDS (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |

##### Group G

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Lincoln City (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Mansfield Town (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Notts County (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Everton U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 | |

##### Group H

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Scunthorpe United (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Doncaster Rovers (Q) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Grimsby Town (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | ACA | Sunderland U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | |

#### Southern Section
##### Group A

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Portsmouth (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Charlton Athletic (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Fulham U21 (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 5 | |
| 4 | L2 | Crawley Town (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | |

##### Group B

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Gillingham (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 9 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Southend United (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Colchester United (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | ACA | Reading U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 1 | |

##### Group C

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Swindon Town (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | West Ham United U21 (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Bristol Rovers (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Wycombe Wanderers (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |

##### Group D

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Yeovil Town (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 8 | Round 2 |
| 2 | ACA | Chelsea U21 (Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Plymouth Argyle (E) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Exeter City (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |

##### Group E

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | ACA | Swansea City U21 (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Forest Green Rovers (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Cheltenham Town (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Newport County (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | |

##### Group F

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Luton Town (Q) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | AFC Wimbledon (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Barnet (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Tottenham Hotspur U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 1 | |

##### Group G

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Milton Keynes Dons (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 8 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Oxford United (Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 4 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Stevenage (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 2 | |

##### Group H

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Peterborough United (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Northampton Town (Q) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Southampton U21 (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L2 | Cambridge United (E) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | |

### Knockout stage

If scores are level after 90 minutes in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, the game will be determined by the taking of penalties.

### Round 2

The Round 2 draw was made on 10 November 2017. The 32 remaining teams were drawn into 16 ties; each group winner will be at home to a runner-up from a different group within their own region.

#### Southern Section
### Round 3

The Round 3 draw was made on 8 December 2017.

#### Southern Section
### Round 4

Eight teams participated in this round with ties originally scheduled to take place in the week commencing 22 January 2018.

### Semi-finals

Four teams participated in this round, which consisted of single ties played at the stadium of the club drawn first in each tie.

### Final
## Match proceeds

After deduction of match expenses, all proceeds were split:
* 45% Home club
* 45% Away club
* 10% to the pool account

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Callum Hudson-Odoi | Chelsea U21 | 4 |
| 1 | Kenji Gorré | Swansea City U21 | 4 |
| 1 | Jack Payne | Bradford City | 4 |
| 4 | Luke Armstrong | Middlesbrough U21 | 3 |
| 4 | Gboly Ariyibi | Northampton Town | 3 |
| 4 | Wes Burns | Fleetwood Town | 3 |
| 4 | Jack Byrne | Oldham Athletic | 3 |
| 4 | Matt Green | Lincoln City | 3 |
| 4 | Robert Hall | Oxford United | 3 |
| 4 | Jordi Hiwula | Fleetwood Town | 3 |
| 4 | Alex Jones | Bradford City | 3 |
| 4 | Charly Musonda | Chelsea U21 | 3 |
| 4 | Ollie Palmer | Lincoln City | 3 |
| 4 | Danny Philliskirk | Blackpool | 3 |
| 4 | Alex Samuel | Stevenage | 3 |
| 4 | Erico Sousa | Accrington Stanley | 3 |
| 4 | Sam Surridge | Yeovil Town | 3 |