The 2025–26 Premier League Cup was the twelfth edition of the competition. 32 academies participated this season 4 fewer than last time after expanding to 36 last season. 7 academies that participated last season did not return this year. Huddersfield Town did not return after 5 consecutive seasons in the competition, Brighton & Hove Albion did not return after a 3-year stint, Chelsea, Fleetwood Town, and Leeds United did not return after 2 consecutive seasons, and finally Everton, and Southampton did not return after playing last year. In terms of teams returning to the competition only 2 returned after a long absence, Millwall returned for the first time since the competition was a knockout only in 2015–16, and Stoke City returned after a 2-season absence. There was one newcomer to the competition, Leyton Orient who participated for the first time.
Participants
Category 1 Blackburn Rovers Birmingham City Burnley Derby County Ipswich Town Leicester City Norwich City Nottingham Forest Reading Stoke City Sunderland West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers
Category 2
AFC Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Cardiff City Charlton Athletic Colchester United Coventry City Hull City Millwall Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Swansea City Watford
Category 3 Exeter City Leyton Orient Luton Town Preston North End Stockport County
Category 4 Bromley
Group stage Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Knockout stages Round of 16 The Round of 16 included all 8 group winners and runners up.
Quarter-finals The Quarter-finals included the 8 winners from the previous round.
Semi-finals The Semi-finals included the four winners from the Previous Round.
Final
|colspan=4|Substitutes:
|colspan=4|Coach: Graeme Murty
|colspan=4|Substitutes:
|colspan=4|Coach: Andy Farrell
References