Manchester United U21s have found out who they will be taking on in this year’s National League Cup following the group stage draw.
The competition will see United’s youngsters given the chance to compete with senior opponents from the National League, the top tier of non-league football in England.
United have been drawn in Group A and will visit Morecambe, Rochdale, Solihull Moors and Tamworth with all matches being played at the National League sides’ homes.
Competition Format
The competition starts with four groups of eight, consisting of four National League clubs and four U21 teams.
Teams will only face off against those from the opposite league during the group stage. United have been drawn in Group A alongside the U21 teams of Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Everton but will not play against any of them.
The two top-placed sides in the each group will then progress to the quarter-finals where a straight knockout phase begins.
Last Time Out
United competed in the competition last season as well when it was introduced for the first time.
An impressive group stage performance saw United top their group with a perfect record of four wins from four.
Travis Binnion’s side defeated Forest Green Rovers, Altrincham, Oldham Athletic, and Rochdale, the latter of which United will meet again in this year’s group stage.
It was a tight affair last time out as United edged past them 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Amir Ibragimov.
The two sides are familiar with each other and will meet before then as well as they clash in a pre-season friendly on August, 2.
Unfortunately, injuries and Chido Obi’s promotion to the first team did not help Binnion last time out, as United ended up losing in the quarter-finals against Sutton United.
Sutton United fell at the final hurdle themselves to the inaugural winners, Leeds United’s U21 side.
The competition is expected to start with the first round of matches taking place on 12/13th of August but the final fixture dates are yet to be confirmed.
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Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
