Liverpool will turn down the chance to compete in this season’s Football League Trophy, according to the BBC.
The competition, known more commonly as the Johnstones Paint Trophy, is normally competed by teams in League One and League Two.
But the Football League are expanding the competition this year to allow the Premier League’s best youth teams to enter.
Liverpool – as a category one academy side – are amongst those eligible to enter but they are reportedly set to decline the offer as the early rounds clash with international under-21 games.
Manchester City have already confirmed they will not enter, whilst Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United are also expected to sit out.
But Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland and Swansea City are among the clubs who will accept the invitation.
The competition previously used a straight knockout system, but 64 teams will now be split into 16 groups of four to accommodate the extra teams.
From then on, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stages until a winner is determined.
This seasons’s final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 2 April.
Last season, Barnsley beat Oxford United 3-2 to lift the trophy.
