Portsmouth beat Sunderland in front of a competition-record crowd at Wembley in last season's final
The 16 invited under-21 sides - including Manchester United and Liverpool - have discovered who they will play in the group stage of the 2019-20 EFL Trophy.
The pair, along with Aston Villa, have entered the competition for the first time, joining the 48 clubs from League One and League Two.
United are in Northern Group H with Doncaster, Rotherham and Lincoln.
Liverpool will face Accrington, Oldham and Fleetwood in Northern Group B.
The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage, which remains regionalised until the quarter-finals.
The final, won by Portsmouth last season, will take place on Sunday, 5 April 2020 at Wembley.
- Liverpool & Man Utd enter EFL Trophy for first time
Rhian Brewster, who is expected to be part of Jurgen Klopp's first-team squad at Liverpool next season, will be eligible to play for the Reds in the EFL TrophyNorthern groups
A: Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United, Sunderland, Leicester City U21
B: Accrington Stanley, Oldham Athletic, Fleetwood Town, Liverpool U21
C: Bury, Salford City, Tranmere Rovers, Aston Villa U21
D: Port Vale, Shrewsbury Town, Macclesfield Town, Newcastle United U21
E: Crewe Alexandra, Burton Albion, Mansfield Town, Everton U21
F: Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City, Rochdale, Manchester City U21
G: Blackpool, Carlisle United, Morecambe, Wolverhampton Wanderers U21
H: Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United, Lincoln City, Manchester United U21
Southern groups
A: Gillingham, Colchester United, Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur U21
B: Crawley Town, Portsmouth, Oxford United, Norwich City U21
C: Leyton Orient, AFC Wimbledon, Southend United, Brighton & Hove Albion U21
D: Coventry City, Forest Green Rovers, Walsall, Southampton U21
E: Exeter City, Cheltenham Town, Newport County, West Ham United U21
F: Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Chelsea U21
G: Stevenage, MK Dons, Wycombe Wanderers, Fulham U21
H: Peterborough United, Cambridge United, Northampton Town, Arsenal U21
Source: bbc.com