Rochdale have been drawn in Group B for round one (the group stages) of this season’s Checkatrade Trophy.
Bury and Fleetwood Town have already been confirmed as opponents, while the invited under-21 team, which will make up the group, will be announced following a draw on Wednesday 18th July.
The following clubs could join Dale in the group stage:
- Everton U21
- Leicester City U21
- Manchester City U21
- Middlesbrough U21
- Newcastle United U21
- Stoke City U21
- West Bromwich Albion U21
- Wolverhampton Wanderers U21
The 48 EFL clubs have been placed into pre-determined groups, with consideration given to ensure travel time is minimised for supporters and recovery time is maximised for players.
In addition, if there is a situation where two teams meet in the Group Stages for a second successive season, like us and Bury, then the club who was at home in 2017/18 will play away in 2018/19. All EFL clubs will play two of their three matches at home in the Group Stages.
The format for this year’s competition is much the same as 2017/18, with only a couple of small changes to the Regulations. Players from EFL clubs who are out on loan in the National League and below are now eligible to feature in the competition, while invited teams have been restricted to fielding two players over the age of 21 and more than 40 first-team appearances.