City are one of 16 Under-21 outfits from the Premier League 2 that will compete in the Men’s senior football competition alongside League One and League Two sides.
Ben Wilkinson’s side have been pitted into Group D of the Northern section of the draw and face Mansfield from League One along with League Two Chesterfield and Port Vale.
The draw follows on from last season where City began our 2025/26 Vertu Trophy journey with an emphatic 5-1 win at Oldham Athletic before a difficult 3-0 defeat to Bolton and 4-2 loss at Rotherham saw us exit the competition at the group stage.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stage, with fixtures regionalised (north or south) until the quarter-final stage.
Group stage matches will commence in early September, with dates and times to be confirmed in due course.
Keep across our website and app for further updates.
Draw - Northern Section
Group A: Sheff Wed, Salford City, Accrington Stanley, Sunderland U21s
Group B: Blackpool, Wigan, Crewe, Aston Villa U21s
Group C: Bradford, York City, Rotherham, Newcastle U21s
Group D: Mansfield, Chesterfield, Port Vale, Man City U21s
Group E: Stockport, Tranmere, Shrewsbury, Everton U21s
Group F: Burton, Notts Co, Grimsby, Nottingham Forest U21s
Group G: Barnsley, Oldham, Fleetwood, Leeds U21s
Group H: Huddersfield, Doncaster, Rochdale, Liverpool U21s
Southern section
Group A: Oxford Utd, Cheltenham, Exeter, Tottenham U21s
Group B: Leicester City, Walsall, Stevenage, Fulham U21s
Group C: Reading, Bristol Rovers, Wycombe Wanderers, Chelsea U21s
Group D: Luton, Peterborough, Colchester, Ipswich U21s
Group E: Plymouth, Swindon Town, Newport County, Crystal Palace U21s
Group F: Wimbledon, Leyton Orient, Barnet, Arsenal U21s
Group G: Cambridge Utd, Gillingham, Northampton, Brighton U21s
Group H: Bromley, Crawley, Milton Keynes, Brentford U21s
Key dates
Group Stage: From early September
Round of 32: w/c 7 December
Round of 16: w/c 11 January
Quarter Finals: w/c 15 February
Semi Finals: w/c 8 March
Final: Sunday 11 April
