The League Cup is less prestigious than the FA Cup and when it was sponsored by Worthington, it was dubbed the Worthless Cup. It is fairly common for larger clubs to field a reserve or youth team unless they make it into the later stages.

Table of contents

1 Format 2 History 3 Past Winners of the League Cup

Format

Preliminary round - (May be a one or two leg game) This is only used when the number of teams in European competition affects the number of byes to round three.

First Round - (One leg game - no replay) Teams in Divisions One, Two and Three enter at this stage, unless competing in Europe.

Second Round - (One leg game - no replay) Teams in the Premiership, not competing in Europe, enter at this stage.

Third Round - (One leg game - no replay) Teams competing in Europe now enter the competition.

Fourth Round and Quarter Finals - (One leg game - no replay) Remaining teams compete in randomly drawn fixtures.

Semi Final - A two leg game with one leg played at each team's stadium.

Final - One leg game played at a neutral venue, traditionally Wembley Stadium, but currently the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff.

Past Winners of the League Cup