Everton Under-23s will take part in the revamped Premier League Cup for the 2016/17 season.
The young Blues have been paired alongside Norwich City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and either Portsmouth or Barnsley in the newly-added group stage.
David Unsworth’s side will face each side home and away, commencing with a trip to Wolves. Fixture dates and details will be confirmed in due course.
In all, 32 clubs will compete across eight groups, with the top two sides from each advancing to the knockout phase.
The last-16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all be one-off ties, with extra time and penalties if teams cannot be separated after 90 minutes.