The English Football League (EFL) Trophy, and also, for commercial purposes, the Papa John's Trophy, is a knockout competition in English professional football. After the FA Cup and the League Cup, this is the third most prestigious cup in English football, making EFL Trophy betting highly popular.
- Tournament Structure for the EFL Trophy
- EFL Trophy Betting Odds, Promotions, Tips & Predictions
- 5 Reasons To Bet on the EFL Trophy
- EFL Trophy Betting Sites With Livestreaming
- Popular EFL Trophy Betting Markets
- History of the EFL Trophy
- Similar Tournaments to the EFL Trophy
- EFL Trophy Betting FAQs
- ThePuntersPage Final Say
Tournament Structure for the EFL Trophy
This competition is part knockout and part group stage, primarily for the bottom 48 teams in the English Football League. Since the 2016/17 season, it has been used to help develop junior talent at some of the higher ranked clubs. The EFL Trophy draw usually takes place in August just as the new European football season is getting underway.
This draw creates multiple four team groups that are all regionally based. In all, there are 16 regional groups of four teams with eight groups in both the Northern and Southern sections. Each team plays all of the others one time only, with all of the points won in those matches applied to the mini-tables. From there, the top two teams in the tables after all of the games have been played will qualify for the next round.
The following stages are all played as one-legged knockouts until there are only two teams remaining. Come late April or early May, these last two teams standing will meet in London at England's national stadium, Wembley to contest the final, the winner of which will be crowned that year’s EFL Trophy champions.
The competition features 64 teams made up of the 48 teams from the English Football League One and the English Football League Two, plus 16 Category One Premier League and EFL Championship academy or under-21 sides. Even in the group stage, draws do not count, so during the group phase, if and when the teams are tied at the end of the 90 minutes, then a penalty shootout is enforced to split the teams and decide the points.
Winning teams are awarded two points while the losing team will get one point. This is true for the rest of the tournament save for the final, where an extra time period of 30 minutes is permitted before the match is decided once again by a penalty shootout in the case of a draw.
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EFL Trophy Betting Odds, Promotions, Tips & Predictions
The dates for the 2022/2023 edition are as follows:
- Group Game One – 31 August, 2022
- Group Game Two – 21 September, 2022
- Group Game Three – 19 October, 2022
- Round Two – 30 November, 2022
- Round Three – 14 December, 2022
- Quarter-Final – 11 January, 2023
- Semi-Final – 1 February, 2023
- Final – 19 March, 2023
NOTE: The EFL Trophy is not the same as the EFL Cup, which is also known as the Carabao Cup due to sponsorship reasons, or more simply the League Cup.
Betting Odds
We will update this section with the latest EFL Trophy betting odds closer to the start date of the event.
Betting Tips & Predictions
Our expert tips and predictions will be added here closer to the commencement of the tournament.
5 Reasons To Bet on the EFL Trophy
- This is a thrilling season long football competition…
- … and the third most prestigious in the English game.
- Teams from all over the country compete…
- … as do Premier League and Championships developing squads…
- … meaning it is a great chance to spot the superstars of tomorrow.
EFL Trophy Betting Sites With Livestreaming
- Unibet
- Betfred
- Ladbrokes
- William Hill
- Betfair
Popular EFL Trophy Betting Markets
Just as with any other football tournament in the UK or indeed the world, there are multiple football betting opportunities that the knockout competition throws up. Of course, most football bets will work with any tournament, including the EFL Championship, English football’s second tier. This can include bets such as EFL transfer betting, among other wagers. You may already have your favourite football bet type, but in case you need some inspiration, we highlighted below a few of our favourites below.
Outright Tournament Winner
With an outright winner bet, you are merely taking a punt on the team that you believe will win the tournament. For the very best value EFL Trophy odds, the optimum time to place a bet such as this is before the tournament gets underway at the start of the season. That said, while you probably won’t get the best odds, you can even make this type of bet in-play while the final is taking place.
Best betting site for Outright Tournament Winner: BoyleSports
Top Goalscorer
This market allows you to place a season-long bet on the player that you believe will finish as the tournament’s top goal scorer. Once again, the best value odds are to be picked up pre-season before the first ball has been kicked; however, the market will remain open as long as the tournament is running. Simply pick a player – ideally but not necessarily a striker – decide on a stake that you are comfortable with, and place your bet.
Best betting site for Top Goalscorer: QuinnBet
Final Result
This bet is a basic wager on the result of the final which takes place at Wembley and decides which team will win the EFL Trophy for that season. It works in exactly the same way as any other result bet that you may or may not have placed previously. The bookmaker you are betting with will display a list of all of the potential scores, and you just need to pick the one that you believe will be the final result of the match.
The thing to remember here is that this wager will only apply to 90 minutes, and not extra time should the match end in a draw. The final is the only match in the tournament that can go into extra time – all other tied games will go directly to a penalty shoot out.
Best betting site for Final Result: NetBet
Group Stage Betting
The first round of the competition is played as a group stage format. This means you have the opportunity to bet on the outcome of each of these tables – e.g. which teams progress or qualify for the next round or, more commonly, which team will top the group table. And, because in the EFL Trophy group phase there are eight groups for both the southern and the northern divisions, you even have the possibility of placing an eight selection accumulator bet made up of each of the table toppers for each division. Or, if you fancy it, you could maybe even consider a systems bet such as a Goliath bet, or go even higher. The options are limitless!
Best betting site for group stage betting: bwin
History of the EFL Trophy
- Originally named the Associate Members' Cup, this knockout competition was first held in the 1983/84 season and was introduced to replace the outgoing Football League Trophy, which itself had previously been known as the Football League Group Cup. By 1992, which was also the year that the old Division One split to create the new Premier League, the competition had been rebranded as the Football League Trophy.
- It wasn’t until 2016 that the tournament became known by its modern-day moniker, the EFL Trophy. This move was in line with the rebranding of the English Football League, and was also the first year that saw the introduction of the inclusion of Premier League and Championship club academies, when 16 Category One academies were allowed to take part in the competition for the first time.
Recent EFL Trophy Winners
| Year | Winner | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Rotherdam United | Sutton United |
| 2021 | Sunderland AFC | Tranmere Rovers |
| 2020 | Salford City | Portsmouth |
| 2019 | Portsmouth | Salford City |
| 2018 | Lincoln City | Shrewsbury Town |
| 2017 | Coventry City | Oxford United |
| 2016 | Barnsley | Oxford United |
| 2015 | Bristol City | Walsall |
| 2014 | Peterborough United | Chesterfield |
| 2013 | Crewe Alexandra | Southend United |
| 2012 | Chesterfield | Swindon Town |
EFL Trophy Key Stats
- In 2019, a record-breaking 85,021 spectators attended the final between Portsmouth and Sunderland at the new Wembley Stadium.
- The most successful side in the competition are Bristol City, who have won it three times in 1985/86, 2002/03, 2014/15. However, they also lost the competition final on two other occasions.
- Nicky Ajose and Jordy Hiwula are the two all-time EFL Trophy leading goal scorers, with 13 goals each.
- At 15 years and 22 days, Rochdale’s Peter Thomas became the youngest ever player to feature in an EFL Trophy match when his team lost 2-0 to Manchester City’s under-21 side.
- The oldest ever player to feature in a match of this competition is Burton Albion’s Kevin Poole, who was 47 years, two months and 15 days old when his team lost 2-1 to Rotherham United.
Similar Tournaments to the EFL Trophy
- August – May 2022, English Premier League: The richest and most watched domestic football league on the planet.
- August – May 2022, English Football League Championship: The second tier of English football and the EFL’s top league, which still boasts more quality than many of Europe’s top flight divisions.
- August – May 2022, The FA Cup: English football’s oldest and most prestigious cup competition, which features teams from all levels of English football and is unseeded. Note that the Premier League and Championship teams enter in the third round, which is held in January.
EFL Trophy Betting FAQs
You can watch the EFL Trophy live on Sky Sports.
The EFL Trophy final takes place at the Wembley Stadium in London.
No – all matches that end in a stalemate will be decided by a penalty shootout except the final, which can go in to extra time (30 minutes) before penalties.
Teams that win their first round matches will pick up two points, whereas, unusually, even the losing teams are awarded one point.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
While the EFL Trophy might only be the third most prestigious cup competition in England and Wales, interest is still extremely high. There are many reasons for this, not least the fact that it allows lower-ranked teams to stand a realistic chance of winning a trophy and then making it to Wembley, a golden achievement for both players and fans alike.
This tournament also has a unique structure, and, thanks to the no-draws rule, there is never a dull moment to be had. It also provides a great opportunity to witness the stars of tomorrow putting forward their best due to the inclusion of some Premier League and EFL Champions teams. In all, this is a great annual football cup which goes a long way to explaining why EFL Trophy betting has become so popular.