The English Football League (EFL) is the oldest soccer league in the world, featuring some of the most historic clubs in England and Wales. Every season, teams playing in the EFL will also have a chance to compete for the EFL Trophy. You can watch and bet on all the action from the EFL 2024-2025 football matches here at Stake Sportsbook . Find out how in this guide.
What is the EFL Trophy? The Bristol Street Motors Trophy Explained
The EFL Trophy is a secondary football league competition that features teams from the third and fourth tier of English football. All 48 teams from EFL League One and League Two automatically enter the competition, along with 16 category 1 U21/academy teams from Premier League and Championship clubs.
In total, 64 teams will compete for the EFL Trophy, split into 16 regional groups of four teams. Each group features one academy team, and after the initial fixtures, the top two teams from each group will compete in the following rounds with a knockout format. The final Championship game is held at Wembley Stadium, increasing the prestige of the tournament and giving winning fans bragging rights over their rivals.
English football is made up of ten tiers, with the level of talent increasing each tier. Clubs throughout the English football system battle to achieve promotion or avoid relegation, moving up or down the pyramid based on their performance every season.
At the very top of the pyramid is the Premier League, featuring some of the best players and coaches in the world. Below them is the EFL, which consists of the Championship, League One, and League Two. Below this is non-league football, with the National League , the National League North and National League South.
History of the EFL Trophy
The Football League Group Cup was introduced in the 1981-82 season as a secondary competition to the FA Cup , giving smaller teams a greater chance of winning silverware. Since then, the EFL Cup has also been introduced, but the EFL Trophy remains the best chance for third and fourth-tier teams to win major trophies. It originally featured 32 invited clubs from all four levels of the English Football League, with a group-stage competition followed by a knockout stage.
The format of the EFL Trophy changed a lot over the years, with the group stage removed and reintroduced several times. The 1983-84 season saw the competition only open to clubs from the third and fourth tiers of English football, which remained in place until 2000 when National League teams were allowed to compete.
In 2006, the addition of National League teams ended, and the format of the tournament remained unchanged until 2016 when the group stage was brought back, and academy teams from the Championship and Premier League joined.
Last season, Peterborough United won the EFL Trophy for the second time in their history, beating Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 in the final.
Which Teams Compete for the EFL Trophy?
Some of the most successful teams in the history of the EFL Trophy include:
Bristol City – Three titles
Peterborough – Two titles
Bolton Wanderers – Two titles
Rotherham United – Two titles
Carlise United – Two titles
Swansea City – Two titles
Blackpool – Two titles
Port Vale – Two titles
Stoke City – Two titles
Wigan Athletic – Two titles
Grimsby Town – Two titles
Birmingham City – Two titles
Format & Schedule of the 2024–25 EFL Trophy
The opening round of the EFL Trophy is a group stage format, with sixteen groups of four clubs split by region and into either the Northern or Southern section. All clubs within a group play each opponent once, earning three points for a win and one for a draw. If any individual games end in a draw, they go to penalties, and the winning teams receive an additional point. After all group games have been played, the top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout rounds.
Fixtures for the second and third rounds of the competition are regionalised, with group winners seeded and runners-up unseeded for the draw. Here are some key dates for the 2024-25 EFL Trophy:
First Round
20 August 2024 – First matchday
3 September 2024 – Second matchday
8 October 2024 – Third matchday
12 November 2024 – Fourth matchday
Betting on socce r, including the EFL Trophy, is very simple once you know how. We’ve got a detailed guide to sports betting if you want more information, but these short steps will help you get started betting on upcoming matches:
Log into your Stake.com account or sign up if you don’t already have one.
Check your balance and use on of the accepted payment methods to deposit crypto to the vault .
Search for the EFL Trophy or use the menu to look for Sports > Soccer > England > EFL Trophy.
Choose a game to bet on or check the outright betting markets.
Decide on your bet using the stats or live stream if available.
Enter your stake in the bet slip and confirm.
Watch the live stream to catch the action from the first minute to the last.
The EFL Trophy is one of the top tournaments in the English Football League. Every game is available to bet on here at Stake, and we offer lots of EFL Championship betting markets, including:
Live Stream EFL Trophy & Live Soccer Betting
All EFL Trophy matches are available to bet on at Stake with pre-live and live betting markets available. Thanks to our live odds and stats that are updated in real-time, you can place bets while the game is in-play. We’ve even got live streams, so you can enjoy the game and get a better understanding of what’s happening, helping you make successful bets.
EFL Trophy Betting Odds & Payouts
Decimal – Calculate your potential payout by multiplying your stake by the betting odds . The sum reveals your total payout from a winning bet, including profit and your original stake. For example, if you bet $10 at odds of 5.5 and won, you’d win $55, which is $45 profit plus the $10 stake.
Fractional – To work out your profit from a winning bet, simply multiply your stake by the first number of the fraction and divide the answer by the second. For example, if you bet $10 at odds of 2/3, you $10 by two to get $20 and then divide by three to get $6.67.
American – These odds either use a plus or a minus sign in front of the number. If your odds have a plus sign, the number is how much profit you’ll make if you bet $100 and win. If the odds have a minus sign, the number tells you how much you’d need to bet in order to win $100 profit.
EFL Trophy Betting Tips, Predictions & Strategies
Betting on goals – Last season, an average of 3.15 goals were scored per game in the EFL Trophy. If this trend continues for the EFL Trophy 2024-25 football matches, betting on over 1.5 or 2.5 goals could be profitable. Always bet responsibly and use our Stake Smart guidelines to stay in control.
Claim betting offers – There are loads of excellent sports betting promos to claim at Stake, giving you a world-class betting experience when you sign up. Always check the full terms, and make the most of regular rewards from the VIP Club when betting on the EFL Trophy. The dedicated VIP hosts help make your betting experience more enjoyable.
Focus on the League One and League Two clubs – While some of the academy teams might have very talented youngsters, they rarely make it past the round of 32. The EFL Trophy has also only ever been won by clubs playing in League One and League Two.