2015–16 Football League Cup

2015–16 Football League Cup
Capital One Cup, League Cup
Country England
Wales
Dates 11 August 2015 –
28 February 2016
Teams 92
Champions Manchester City (4th title)
Runners-up Liverpool
Matches played 93
Goals scored 284 (3.05 per match)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 Football League Cup, known as the Capital One Cup for sponsorship purposes, was the 56th season of the Football League Cup. It began on 11 August 2015 and concluded on 28 February 2016.[1] The winners qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

Chelsea were the defending champions, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the previous season's final.[2] However, they were eliminated in the fourth round by Stoke City on penalties.

Manchester City won the final on 28 February, defeating Liverpool 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out after the match had finished 1–1 after extra-time.[3][4]

This was the final season in which the tournament was known as the Football League, as it was renamed the EFL Cup in 2016 after the Football League was rebranded as the English Football League (EFL).[5]

Format

The League Cup is open to all 92 members of the Premier League and the Football League and is divided into seven rounds, organised so that 32 teams remain by the third round.[6] Teams involved in European competition during the season receive a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League teams enter at the second round, and the remaining Football League teams enter at the first round.[6]

The League Cup is played as a knockout cup competition with each tie, except semi-finals, being played as a single match with the winner advancing to the next round. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the finals. If the score is level after 90 minutes, or if the aggregate score is level for semi-finals, then thirty minutes of extra time is played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. If the aggregate scores in semi-finals are still level at the end of extra time the tie shall be decided by goals scored away from home counting twice, according to away goals rule. If the tie has not been decided during extra time, it will be decided by penalty shoot-out.[7]

In the first five rounds, the team drawn first will play at home ground, and in the semi-finals the team drawn first will play the first leg at home. The final shall be played on a neutral ground.[7]

Team allocation

A total of 92 teams from the top four English tiers (Premier League, Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two) participate in the 2015–16 Football League Cup.

Distribution

The tournament is organised so that 32 teams remain by the third round.[6] Teams involved in European competition during the season receive a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League teams enter at the second round, and the remaining Football League teams enter at the first round.[6]

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First round
(72 teams)
  • 24 teams from Football League Two
  • 24 teams from Football League One
  • 24 teams from Football League Championship
Second round
(48 teams)
  • 12 Premier League teams (not involved in European competition)
  • 36 winners from first round
Third round
(32 teams)
  • 8 Premier League teams (involved in European competition)
  • 24 winners from second round
Fourth round
(16 teams)
  • 16 winners from third round
Fifth round
(8 teams)
  • 8 winners from fourth round
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • 4 winners from fifth round
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winners from semi-finals

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round (the numbers are positions from previous league season meaning that teams promoted to Premier League is listed as Championship teams but ranked above the teams relegated to Football League Championship, and the same applies for all other promotions and relegations):

Third round
Chelsea (PL 1st) Arsenal (PL 3rd) Tottenham Hotspur (PL 5th) Southampton (PL 7th)
Manchester City (PL 2nd) Manchester United (PL 4th) Liverpool (PL 6th) West Ham United (PL 12th)
Second round
Swansea City (PL 8th) Everton (PL 11th) Newcastle United (PL 15th) AFC Bournemouth (CH 1st)
Stoke City (PL 9th) West Bromwich Albion (PL 13th) Sunderland (PL 16th) Watford (CH 2nd)
Crystal Palace (PL 10th) Leicester City (PL 14th) Aston Villa (PL 17th) Norwich City (CH 3rd)
First round
Hull City (PL 18th) Reading (CH 19th) Doncaster Rovers (L1 13th) Plymouth Argyle (L2 7th)
Burnley (PL 19th) Brighton & Hove Albion (CH 20th) Walsall (L1 14th) Luton Town (L2 8th)
Queens Park Rangers (PL 20th) Rotherham United (CH 21st) Oldham Athletic (L1 15th) Newport County (L2 9th)
Middlesbrough (CH 4th) Bristol City (L1 1st) Scunthorpe United (L1 16th) Exeter City (L2 10th)
Brentford (CH 5th) Milton Keynes Dons (L1 2nd) Coventry City (L1 17th) Morecambe (L2 11th)
Ipswich Town (CH 6th) Preston North End (L1 3rd) Port Vale (L1 18th) Northampton Town (L2 12th)
Wolverhampton Wanderers (CH 7th) Millwall (CH 22nd) Colchester United (L1 19th) Oxford United (L2 13th)
Derby County (CH 8th) Wigan Athletic (CH 23rd) Crewe Alexandra (L1 20th) Dagenham & Redbridge (L2 14th)
Blackburn Rovers (CH 9th) Blackpool (CH 24th) Burton Albion (L2 1st) AFC Wimbledon (L2 15th)
Birmingham City (CH 10th) Swindon Town (L1 4th) Shrewsbury Town (L2 2nd) Portsmouth (L2 16th)
Cardiff City (CH 11th) Sheffield United (L1 5th) Bury (L2 3rd) Accrington Stanley (L2 17th)
Charlton Athletic (CH 12th) Chesterfield (L1 6th) Southend United (L2 5th) York City (L2 18th)
Sheffield Wednesday (CH 13th) Bradford City (L1 7th) Notts County (L1 21st) Cambridge United (L2 19th)
Nottingham Forest (CH 14th) Rochdale (L1 8th) Crawley Town (L1 22nd) Carlisle United (L2 20th)
Leeds United (CH 15th) Peterborough United (L1 9th) Leyton Orient (L1 23rd) Mansfield Town (L2 21st)
Huddersfield Town (CH 16th) Fleetwood Town (L1 10th) Yeovil Town (L1 24th) Hartlepool United (L2 22nd)
Fulham (CH 17th) Barnsley (L1 11th) Wycombe Wanderers (L2 4th) Barnet (FC 1st)
Bolton Wanderers (CH 18th) Gillingham (L1 12th) Stevenage (L2 6th) Bristol Rovers (FC 2nd)

Round and draw dates

The schedule was as follows.[1][8]

Round Draw date First leg Second leg
First round 16 June 2016[9] 10 August 2016
Second round 13 August 2016[10] 24 August 2016
Third round 25 August 2016[11] 21 September 2016
Fourth round 23 September 2016[12] 26 October 2016
Fifth round 28 October 2016 30 November 2016
Semi-finals 2 December 2016 4 January 2017 25 January 2017
Final 28 February 2017

Note: Matches are played the week commencing on dates above, except the final which is fixed on the 28 February 2017.

First round

Seeding

A total of 72 teams played in the first round: 24 teams from League Two (tier 4), 24 teams from League One (tier 3), and 24 teams from the Championship (tier 2).[9] The draw for the first round was held on 16 June 2015.[13] (Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2015–16 season.)

Seeded Unseeded

Barnsley (3)
Birmingham City (2)
Blackburn Rovers (2)
Blackpool (3)
Bolton Wanderers (2)
Bradford City (3)
Brentford (2)
Brighton & Hove Albion (2)
Bristol City (2)
Burnley (2)
Cardiff City (2)
Charlton Athletic (2)

Chesterfield (3)
Derby County (2)
Fleetwood Town (3)
Fulham (2)
Gillingham (3)
Huddersfield Town (2)
Hull City (2)
Ipswich Town
Leeds United (2)
Middlesbrough (2)
Millwall (3)
Milton Keynes Dons (2)

Nottingham Forest (2)
Peterborough United (3)
Preston North End (2)
Queens Park Rangers (2)
Reading (2)
Rochdale (3)
Rotherham United (2)
Sheffield United (3)
Sheffield Wednesday (2)
Swindon Town (3)
Wigan Athletic (3)
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)

Accrington Stanley (4)
AFC Wimbledon (4)
Barnet (4)
Bristol Rovers (4)
Burton Albion (3)
Bury (3)
Cambridge United (4)
Carlisle United (4)
Colchester United (3)
Coventry City (3)
Crawley Town (4)
Crewe Alexandra (3)

Dagenham & Redbridge (4)
Doncaster Rovers (3)
Exeter City (4)
Hartlepool United (4)
Leyton Orient (4)
Luton Town (4)
Mansfield Town (4)
Morecambe (4)
Newport County (4)
Northampton Town (4)
Notts County (4)
Oldham Athletic (3)

Oxford United (4)
Plymouth Argyle (4)
Port Vale (3)
Portsmouth (4)
Scunthorpe United (3)
Shrewsbury Town (3)
Southend United (3)
Stevenage (4)
Walsall (3)
Wycombe Wanderers (4)
Yeovil Town (4)
York City (4)

Matches

The matches were played in the week commencing 10 August 2015.[1][8]

Second round

Seeding

A total of 48 teams play in the second round: 12 teams which enter in this round, and the 36 winners of the first round. The 12 teams entering this round are the teams from 2015–16 Premier League not involved in any European competition.[10] The draw for the second round was held on 13 August 2015.[14] (Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2015–16 season.)

Seeded Unseeded

AFC Bournemouth (1)
Aston Villa (1)
Birmingham City (2)
Brighton & Hove Albion (2)
Cardiff City (2)
Charlton Athletic (2)
Crystal Palace (1)
Everton (1)
Fulham (2)
Hull City (2)
Ipswich Town (2)
Leicester City (1)

Middlesbrough (2)
Newcastle United (1)
Norwich City (1)
Queens Park Rangers (2)
Reading (2)
Sheffield Wednesday (2)
Stoke City (1)
Sunderland (1)
Swansea City (1)
Watford (1)
West Bromwich Albion (1)
Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)

Barnet (4)
Barnsley (3)
Burton Albion (3)
Bury (3)
Carlisle United (4)
Doncaster Rovers (3)
Exeter City (4)
Gillingham (3)
Hartlepool United (4)
Luton Town (4)
Milton Keynes Dons (2)
Northampton Town (4)

Notts County (4)
Oxford United (4)
Peterborough United (3)
Port Vale (3)
Portsmouth (4)
Preston North End (2)
Rochdale (3)
Rotherham United (2)
Sheffield United (3)
Shrewsbury Town (3)
Walsall (3)
York City (4)

Matches

The matches were played in the week commencing 24 August 2015.[1][8]

Third round

Teams

A total of 32 teams play in the third round: 8 teams which enter in this round, and the 24 winners of the second round. The 8 teams entering this round are the teams from 2015–16 Premier League involved in European competition in the 2015–16 season. There was no seeding in this round. The lowest ranked team in this round is Carlisle United who play in the Football League Two in the fourth division of English football.[15]

Matches

The matches were played in the week commencing 21 September 2015.[1][8]

Fourth round

Teams

A total of 16 teams play in the fourth round, all winners of the third round. There is no seeding in this round. The draw for the fourth round was held on 23 September 2015 after the North London derby.[12] (Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2015–16 season.) The lowest ranked teams in this round are Hull City, Middlesbrough, and Sheffield Wednesday who all play in the Football League Championship in the second division of English football.[16]

Matches

The matches were played in the week commencing 26 October 2015.[1][8][17]

Fifth round

Teams

A total of 8 teams play in the fifth round, all winners of the fourth round. There is no seeding in this round. The draw for the fifth round was held on 28 October after the completion of the fourth round.[19]

Matches

The matches were played in the week commencing 30 November 2015.[1][8] The lowest ranked teams in this round are Hull City, Middlesbrough, and Sheffield Wednesday who all play in the Football League Championship in the second division of English football.

Semi-finals

Teams

A total of four teams played in the Semi-finals, all winners of the fifth round. There was no seeding in this round. The draw for the semi-final was held on 2 December 2015 and all of the teams were from Premier League (top tier).[21]

Matches

The semi-finals are played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the finals.

First leg

The first leg matches were played on 5 and 6 January 2016.[1][8]

Second leg

The second leg were played on 26 and 27 January 2016.[1][8]

Final

The League Cup Final was held on 28 February 2016 at Wembley Stadium.[1][8]

28 February 2016 (2016-02-28)
16:30 GMT
Liverpool 1−1 (a.e.t.) Manchester City
Coutinho  83' Report Fernandinho  49'
  Penalties  
Can
Lucas
Coutinho
Lallana 		1−3 Fernandinho
Navas
Agüero
Touré
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 86,206
Referee: Michael Oliver

Top goalscorers

As of 28 February 2016[22]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City 5
2 England Joe Dodoo Leicester City 4
England Dwight Gayle Crystal Palace
Belgium Romelu Lukaku Everton
England Scott Sinclair Aston Villa
Uruguay Cristhian Stuani Middlesbrough
7 Wales Tom Bradshaw Walsall 3
England Jermain Defoe Sunderland
Senegal Sadio Mané Southampton
Belgium Divock Origi Liverpool

Broadcasting rights

The live television rights for the competition were held by the subscription channel Sky Sports, who have held rights to the competition since 1996–97 apart from 2001-02 when the short-lived ITV Digital had exclusive coverage of that season's League Cup competition as part of the original three year TV deal with The Football League.

These matches were televised live by Sky Sports:

Round Live TV games
First round Portsmouth vs Derby County, Doncaster Rovers vs Leeds United[23]
Second round Luton Town vs Stoke City, Barnsley vs Everton[24]
Third Round Aston Villa vs Birmingham City, Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal[25]
Fourth Round Sheffield Wednesday vs Arsenal, Liverpool vs AFC Bournemouth[26]
Fifth Round Middlesbrough vs Everton, Southampton vs Liverpool[27]
Semi-finals All 4 Matches
Final Liverpool vs Manchester City

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The 2015-16 fixture list has been released by The FA". thefa.com. The FA. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ↑ McNulty, Phil (1 March 2015). "Chelsea 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Man City beats Liverpool on penalties to win League Cup". Daily Mail. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Liverpool 1 Man City 1 (Man City win 3-1 on penalties_". The Guardian. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Press Association (2015-11-12). "Goodbye Football League, hello English Football League: rebranding announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "The Football League Cup". soccer.mistral.co.uk. SoccerData. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Rules". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Competition Round and Draw Dates". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Capital One Cup 2015/16 – Round 1 seedings". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Capital One Cup Round 2 draw information". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Capital One Cup Round 3 draw information". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Capital One Cup draw - When is it? Who could the Merseyside clubs face?". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Liverpool Echo. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Capital One Cup 2015/16 Round 1 Draw". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Capital One Cup 2015/16 Round 2 Draw". capitalonecup.co.uk. The Football League. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "League Cup third-round draw: Tottenham to host rivals Arsenal". BBC Sport. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "League Cup draw: Arsenal travel to Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  17. ↑ http://www.capitalonecup.co.uk/news/article/capital-one-cup-round-4-dates-and-times-confirmed-2710403.aspx
  18. ↑ "Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough 0 - 0". Soccerway. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Middlesbrough face Everton in quarter-finals". BBC Sport. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Stoke City 2, Sheffield Wednesday 0 Match Report: Landmark goals for Afellay & Bardsley seal win". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "League Cup semi-final draw: Manchester City to play Everton". www.bbc.com. BBC Sport. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "English League Cup 2015/2016: Top Scorers". World Football. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Capital One Cup Round 1 TV games announced". capitalonecup.co.uk. 23 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Capital One Cup Round 2: Sky Sports' selections announced". capitalonecup.co.uk. 14 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Sky Sports' Capital One Cup Round 3 selections announced". capitalonecup.co.uk. 26 August 2015.
  26. ↑ "Sky Sports announce Capital One Cup Round 4 selections". capitalonecup.co.uk. 24 September 2015.
  27. ↑ Sky Sports announce Capital One Cup Round 5 selections: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11938/10047579/capital-one-cup-quarter-finals-live-on-sky-sports
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