The 2013-14 Under-21 Premier League Cup (known as the Barclays Under-21 Premier League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the first edition of the U21 Premier League Cup.[1]
Fifty two teams entered the competition - with sixteen Category 3 EPPP teams entered in the 1st Qualifying Round, seventeen Category 2 teams entered in the 2nd Qualifying Round, and the remaining nineteen Category 1 teams entered in the Round of 32. Teams were allowed to field up to four over-age players in matches – three outfield and one goalkeeper.
Participants
Category 1
North
South
Blackburn Rovers
Arsenal
Bolton Wanderers
Aston Villa
Everton
Chelsea
Leicester City
Fulham
Manchester City
Norwich City
Middlesbrough
Reading
Newcastle United
Southampton
Stoke City
West Ham United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Category 2
North
South
Barnsley
Brighton & Hove Albion
Birmingham City
Bristol City
Coventry City
Cardiff City
Crewe Alexandra
Crystal Palace
Derby County
Millwall
Huddersfield Town
Queens Park Rangers
Leeds United
Swansea City
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday
Category 3
North
South
Burnley
AFC Wimbledon
Doncaster Rovers
Bournemouth
Hull City
Bristol Rovers
Notts County
Colchester United
Preston North End
Exeter City
Wigan Athletic
Gillingham
Peterborough United
Plymouth Argyle
Torquay United
Watford
Matches
First qualifying round
This round commences the week beginning 23 September 2013. Only the sixteen Category 3 rated academies competed in this round.[2][3]
This round commenced the week beginning 21 October 2013. The eight First Qualifying Round winners were joined in this round by sixteen of the seventeen Category 2 rated academies - Nottingham Forest drew a bye to the Round of 32.
This round begins the week beginning 18 November 2013. The nineteen Category 1 sides were joined in this round by the twelve Second Qualifying round winners and Nottingham Forest, who drew a bye to this round.[6] Birmingham City withdrew from the competition after fielding an ineligible player. Newcastle United progressed to the Round of 16 instead.[7]
^"Roddy: Under-21 PL Cup will sharpen competitive edge". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
^"Premier League launches Under-21 Premier League Cup". PremierLeague.com. 8 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
^"Under-21 Premier League Cup: Derbies emerge in draw". PremierLeague.com. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
^"Watford beat Bristol Rovers on penalties to progress in Under-21 Premier League Cup". Watford Observer.
^"Under-21 Premier League Cup: Tough ties for Arsenal and Fulham". PremierLeague.com. 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
^"Blues withdraw from U21 Cup". bcfc.com. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
^"VILLA U21S 0-3 FULHAM". Fulham FC.
^"Under-21 Cup: London derby pick of the draw". PremierLeague.com. 30 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^@ReadingFC (31 January 2014). "Reading's under 21s take on Watford today in a rearranged @PremierLeague cup encounter behind closed doors, kick off 1pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"FFC U21S 0-1 ARSENAL U21S". Fulham FC.
^"U21 Cup: Man City go to Newcastle, Chelsea await London derby". PremierLeague.com. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.