2015–16 Football League Cup

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. It was a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system.

Chelsea were the defending champions, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the previous season's final. 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.

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

Format
The League Cup was open to all 92 members of the Premier League and the Football League and was divided into seven rounds, organised so that 32 teams remained by the third round. Teams involved in European competition during the season received a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League teams entered at the second round, and the remaining Football League teams entered at the first round.

The League Cup was played as a knockout cup competition for each tie, being played as a single match (with the exception of the semi-finals) with the winner advancing to the next round. The semi-finals were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the teams that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advancing to the final. If the score was level after 90 minutes, or if the aggregate score was level for semi-finals, then thirty minutes of extra time were played, divided into two fifteen-minute halves. If the aggregate scores in semi-finals were still level at the end of extra time, the tie was decided by goals scored away from home counting twice, according to the away goals rule. If the tie was not decided during extra time, it was determined by a penalty shoot-out.

In the first five rounds, the team drawn first played at their home ground, and in the semi-finals the team drawn first played the first leg at home. The final was played on a neutral ground.

Team allocation
92 teams from the top four English tiers (Premier League, Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two) participated.

Distribution
The tournament was organised so that 32 teams remained by the third round. Teams involved in European competition received a bye to the third round, the remaining Premier League teams entered at the second round, and the remaining Football League teams entered at the first round.
 * Teams involved in European competition enter at the third round.
 * The remaining Premier League teams entered at the second round.
 * The remaining Football League teams entered at the first round.

Round and draw dates
The schedule was as follows.

Note: Matches were played the week commencing on dates above except for the final, which was fixed for 28 February 2016.

First round
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). The draw for the first round was held on 16 June 2015. (Note: The numbers in parentheses are the tier for the team during the 2015–16 season.)

Matches
The matches were played in the week commencing 10 August 2015.

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

Matches
The matches were played in the week commencing 24 August 2015.

Teams
A total of 32 teams played in the third round: 8 teams which entered in this round, and the 24 winners of the second round. The eight teams entering this round were the teams from the 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 was Carlisle United, who played in League Two, the fourth division of English football.

Matches
The matches were played in the week commencing 21 September 2015.

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

Matches
The matches were played in the week commencing 26 October 2015.

Teams
A total of eight teams played in the fifth round, all winners of the fourth round. There was no seeding in this round. The draw for the fifth round was held on 28 October after the completion of the fourth round. The lowest ranked teams in this round were Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday, who all played in the Championship, the second division of English football.

Matches
The matches were played in the week commencing 30 November 2015.

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-finals was held on 2 December 2015 and all of the remaining teams were from the Premier League (top tier).

Matches
The semi-finals were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home, and the teams that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the final.

First leg
The first leg matches were played on 5 and 6 January 2016.

Second leg
The second leg were played on 26 and 27 January 2016.

Final
The League Cup Final was held on 28 February 2016 at Wembley Stadium.

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: