2016–17 Premier League International Cup
The 2016–17 Premier League International Cup was the third season of the Premier League International Cup, a European club football competition organised by the Premier League for under-23 players.
Villarreal were the defending champions, having defeated PSV 4–2 in the previous season's final, but were eliminated in the group stage.
Qualification
Twelve teams in Premier League 2 were invited to represent England in the tournament, while European teams that qualify for the knockout stages were guaranteed an invite for the following season's competition. The teams were split into six groups of four - with two English league clubs per group. The group winners, and two best runners-up, progressed into the knockout phase of the tournament. The knockout matches were single leg fixtures.All matches - including fixtures between non-English teams - were played in England and Wales.
Teams
, Feyenoord, Sparta Prague, Dinamo Zagreb, VfL Wolfsburg, and Hertha Berlin were the new international entrants in the 2016–17 season.English league system:
- Middlesbrough
- Derby County
- Everton
- Leicester City
- Liverpool
- Manchester United
- Chelsea
- Reading
- Sunderland
- Norwich City
- Aston Villa
- Swansea City
- Valencia
- Athletic Bilbao
- Villarreal
- VfL Wolfsburg
- Hertha Berlin
- Porto
- Benfica
- PSV Eindhoven
- Feyenoord
- Celtic
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Sparta Prague
Group stage
Color key in group tables |
Group winners and the two best runners-up advance to the quarterfinals |