Leeds United will once again participate in the EFL Trophy as one of the 16 invited Premier League clubs with one potential group draw boasting a hat-trick of derby games.

The EFL Trophy is contested by the clubs in League One and League Two but several years ago it was decided that Under-21 teams from Category One academies would also join at the group stage.

Next season Leeds will be one of the academy sides invited to take part, alongside Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Ipswich Town, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.

The draw for the group stages will take place on Thursday this week live on Sky Sports News at 2.30pm, when Leeds will discover which of the pre-determined groups they will join. The group stage is regionalised to cut down on travel time, with 16 groups of four teams - three EFL clubs and one invited Under-21 side.

In the Northern Section Leeds could find themselves in Group A [Sheffield Wednesday, Salford City, Accrington Stanley], Group B [Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Crewe Alexandra], Group C [Bradford City, York City, Rotherham United], Group D [Mansfield Town, Chesterfield, Port Vale], Group E [Stockport County, Tranmere Rovers, Shrewsbury Town], Group F [Burton Albion, Notts County, Grimsby Town], Group G [Barnsley, Oldham Athletic, Fleetwood Town] or Group H [Huddersfield Town, Doncaster Rovers, Rochdale].

Leeds United will be ball number three in the draw.

Group stage games will commence in early September, with dates to be confirmed after the EFL releases their fixtures on Thursday.

The round of 32 takes place on the week commencing December 7, the round of 16 follows on the week of January 11, with the quarter-finals the week of February 15, the semi-finals on the week commencing March 8 and the final on Sunday April 11.

The top two from each group moves through to the knockout stages, with fixtures regionalised until the quarter-finals. Matches level after 90 minutes will be determined by penalty kicks up to, and including, the semi-final stage. The final will go to extra-time and penalties if required.

Last season a young Leeds squad finished bottom of their group, losing each of their games against Fleetwood Town, Port Vale and Accrington Stanley.