Winning the Vertu Trophy for a third successive season will be 'very tough' for Peterborough United after the defending champions discovered who they will face in the 2025/26 group stage.
The Posh upset hot favourites Birmingham City at Wembley Stadium back in April to clinch back-to-back titles, with Harley Mills and Hector Kyprianou scoring the goals to win the competition for a record-equalling third time.
Darren Ferguson and his side will go up against Crawley Town, Leyton Orient and Aston Villa U21 in the opening round, but former professional Curtis Davies admitted that making it all the way to the final for a third straight season would be far from easy.
"It'll be very tough for Peterborough to go and win three-in-a-row," he told Vertu during the draw. "With the way the league season went, you could see that Darren Ferguson was able to put a bit more into the Vertu Trophy last season, and it was great for the team and the fans to go out at Wembley and win it twice in succession.
"I know he won it as a player with Wrexham as well so this has always been a big competition for him. He'll want to win a hat-trick, but there are plenty of others who are going to want to stop him."
Amongst those who will look to challenge the defending champions this season are the three sides dropping down from the EFL Championship in the shape of Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town - who return to the competition two seasons after being part of the Premier League.
The three relegated teams are expected to be amongst the favourites for success and all face interesting draws, with Cardiff facing Newport County in an all-Welsh affair and Plymouth Argyle in a group that includes Bristol Rovers - who the Pilgrims defeated en-route to the 2022/23 final.
Luton meanwhile face Barnet as they return to the EFL after seven seasons alongside Oldham Athletic, who are back in the League for the first time since relegation in 2022 and are in a group alongside Bolton Wanderers.
Picking a favourite however is far from straightforward.
"Unlike last season with Birmingham, I don't think there is a stand-out favourite this season," Davies said. "However, Luton Town will want to lay their hands on the trophy after a difficult few seasons, and will be keen to give their fans reason to smile - hopefully alongside promotion back to the Championship!
"Luton have history in the competition, as does [manager] Matt Bloomfield, and the competition provides them with a great opportunity during the season ahead.
"Winning breeds confidence, so success in the Vertu Trophy would be good for the team, and there is also the chance to use the competition to give some of the younger players game time."
Davies has strong ties to the Hatters having made his professional debut with the team in what was then the LDV Vans Trophy back in November 2003, coming off the bench in a 2-1 win against Rushen and Diamonds.
A number of young players will hope that the competition provides a similar launchpad for their own careers during the season ahead, with Davies saying he was excited to see what one youngster in particular was able to achieve.
"I'm was excited at the start of last season by Milton Oni at Colchester, who unfortunately picked up an injury that ruled him out for much of the season," he said.
"He's a dynamic midfielder who, dare I say it, is a bit like Kobbie Mainoo. He's energetic and is good at winning the ball, and I look forward to seeing him kick on this season."
The full group stage draw can be seen below.
| NORTHERN SECTION | |
| Group A | Salford City Stockport County Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 |
| Group B | Barrow Blackpool Tranmere Rovers Nottingham Forest U21 |
| Group C | Bradford City Doncaster Rovers Grimsby Town Everton U21 |
| Group D | Barnsley Lincoln City Notts County Manchester United U21 |
| Group E | Bolton Wanderers Oldham Athletic Rotherham United Manchester City U21 |
| Group F | Harrogate Town Huddersfield Town Mansfield Town Newcastle United U21 |
| Group G | Accrington Stanley Fleetwood Town Port Vale Leeds United U21 |
| Group H | Burton Albion Chesterfield Crewe Alexandra Liverpool U21 |
| SOUTHERN SECTION | |
| Group A | Cardiff City Exeter City Newport County Arsenal U21 |
| Group B | Bristol Rovers Cheltenham Town Plymouth Argyle Tottenham Hotspur U21 |
| Group C | Northampton Town Shrewsbury Town Walsall Chelsea U21 |
| Group D | Milton Keynes Dons Reading Swindon Town West Ham United U21 |
| Group E | AFC Wimbledon Bromley Stevenage Crystal Palace u21 |
| Group F | Crawley Town Leyton Orient Peterborough United Aston Villa U21 |
| Group G | Colchester United Gillingham Wycombe Wanderers Fulham U21 |
| Group H | Barnet Cambridge United Luton Town Brighton & Hove Albion U21 |
- EFL