Rochdale continue their Checkatrade Trophy campaign on Tuesday night, hosting Notts County in the second group stage game of the newly-formatted competition.
After the first round of games, the Magpies top the group on three points after beating Hartlepool United, while Dale are a point behind, after securing two points from the penalty-shoot win against Sunderland.
Manager Keith Hill has hinted that he is likely to make the maximum number of changes allowed for the match, with two enforced due to international duty and injury.
Matty Lund is away with Northern Ireland ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Germany, while Jamie Allen is expected to be out for a “substantial” amount of time due to the knee injury sustained in Saturday’s game against Charlton.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jeremy Simpson
Assistant Referees: Billy Smallwood and Paul Hodgkinson
Fourth Official: Anthony Tankard
TICKET INFORMATION
Supporters can pay on the night at the Crown Oil Arena. Adults £5, Juniors £1.
Turnstiles open an hour before kick-off.
PRE-MATCH ENTERTAINMENT
The Ratcliffe Bars, situated on the Crown Oil Arena car park, is open to home and away supporters. Doors open at 5pm.
The Carlsberg Lounge, also on the Crown Oil Arena car park – opposite the five-a-side pitch – is open to home supporters using the Pearl Street Stand. The bar can only be accessed from inside the ground – turnstiles open an hour before kick-off.
FIRST TIME VISITOR
First time visitor to the Crown Oil Arena? You might find this guide useful > http://www.rochdaleafc.co.uk/fans/firsttimevisitor/
GOLDEN GAMBLE
Don't forget to buy your Golden Gamble ticket from one our sellers around the ground to be in with a chance of winning our cash prize. Tickets cost £1.
MATCH COVERAGE
Live commentary coverage of the game will be available on Dale PlayerHD, with the programme getting underway at around 2.55pm. Not got Dale PlayerHD? You can sign up HERE.
You can also follow the match via the club’s official Twitter feed - @officiallydale
CHECKATRADE TROPHY RULES & FORMAT
Teams will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, the game will go straight to penalties and the winning team will earn an additional point.
The top two teams in the group will progress to the knockout stages of the competition, meaning eight winners and eight runners up from the north and south group stages qualify for the round of 32. All other clubs are eliminated from the competition.
If two or more clubs are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied in the order give to determine their rankings:
- goal difference.
- higher number of goals scored in the group matches.
- number of wins after normal time (i.e. not the result of any drawn match followed by penalties).
- the record against each other in the group match, taking into account in order of precedence, points gained, goal difference, higher number of goals scored.
- if the Clubs still have an equal ranking after the application of (A) to (C), by the drawing of lots.
EFL clubs must field a minimum of five first-team players in their starting eleven. For invited Clubs, six of the starting 11 must be under 21 as at June 30th.
No player may play for more than one club in the competition in any one season.
New disciplinary rules for the revamped cup competition mean that cautions and sending-offs are exclusive to the tournament.
Therefore, any EFL or Premier League player who is serving a ban or is set to serve a suspension for a yellow or red card offence committed in another competition, will be eligible to play in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Likewise, any cautions or dismissals collected in the Checkatrade Trophy won’t affect other EFL or Premier League fixtures.