Tranmere Rovers 4 Leeds United under-21s 1 - Recap from Prenton Park as fine Whites football proves in vain

FIRST TEST: Leeds United's under-21s face Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park, above. Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images.

The competition which is now known as the Papa John's Trophy sees teams from English football's third and fourth tier taking on the country's best Academy sides with Category One status.

Leeds got no further than the group stage last season, falling to a 7-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley which was followed by a 2-2 draw at Barrow and a 3-0 reverse at Blackpool.

League Two trio Oldham Athletic, Salford City and tonight's hosts Tranmere are providing this season's Northern Section Group B opponents, from which the top two go through.

Tonight's hosts Tranmere were beaten by current League One table toppers Sunderland in last season's final under former boss Keith Hill.

Micky Mellon is now back in charge of Rovers for a second time having left Dundee United back in May.

The YEP is live at Prenton Park and you can follow all the pre-match build up and team news followed by live match updates and then reaction and analysis here.

Tranmere Rovers v Leeds United under-21s LIVE

Key Events

EFL Trophy Northern Section Group B opener for Leeds and Tranmere.
Oldham Athletic and Salford City are in the same group. Oldham 1-0 winners in first game.
Top two progress to the next round. Tranmere runners up last season.
7pm kick-off at Prenton Park.

Tue, 14 Sep, 2021, 18:49 BST

Warm ups coming to a close

There’s a handful of Leeds fans in what appears to be the away end, a couple of Leeds flags too

Tue, 14 Sep, 2021, 18:44 BST

Tranmere so far

Just two goals in seven games for them so far this season. But a very experienced side here against youthful Leeds.

Tue, 14 Sep, 2021, 18:23 BST

Nohan Kenneh

Is tonight’s captain for a very young Leeds side who are facing last season’s runners up in this competition. A reminder that the game goes straight to penalties in the event of a draw, even though it is a group game. It’s two points for a win via penalties. Something very different is this.