Man Utd drawn against three local rivals in 2023/24 EFL Trophy including ‘Class of ‘92’ foes

Manchester United will face three local rivals in the 2023/24 EFL Trophy group stages.

The Red Devils’ under-21s side will compete in the competition against sides from League One and League Two, with the draw for the group stages, which was announced on Thursday, splitting clubs into a north and south half.

United have remarkably been drawn against three other teams from the Greater Manchester region. Mark Dempsey’s Red Devils will face Bolton Wanderers, Salford City and Stockport County in the group stages next season.

Bolton won the competition last season, although youngster Shola Shoretire - on loan from United - didn’t play in the Wembley final. Salford, co-owned by the famous ‘Class of ‘92’ graduates Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville, also had a United youngster on loan this season. Ethan Galbraith played 38 times for Salford, including four matches in the EFL Trophy, but has since been released by United.

As for Stockport, they regained their Football League status in 2022 and finished fourth in League Two this season, but were beaten in the play-off final by Carlisle United.

Further details of the fixtures for the EFL Group stages will be released but the matches are currently scheduled for 5/6 September, 10/11 October and 14/15 November. Two sides progress from the 16 groups, with a 32-team knockout tournament commencing in December. Last season, United were eliminated in the third round by eventual winners Bolton.

As for Manchester City, they have slightly further to travel and have been drawn in a four-team group including Barnsley, Bradford City and Grimsby Town.