EFL Trophy format explained as Sheffield Wednesday gear up for Salford City fixture
Sheffield Wednesday will take on Salford City in their EFL Trophy opener on Tuesday evening.
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to make a winning start to their EFL Trophy campaign when they take on Salford City at the AIG Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Owls, who have never previously faced the League Two side, will be hoping to make a winning start to the competition and return to winning ways after successive 0-0 draws in League One against Wigan Athletic and Stockport County.
Although League One is Wednesday’s bread and butter this season, manager Henrik Pedersen has vowed to take the clash with the Ammies “very, very seriously”.
The Dane is expected to make changes to his starting XI, but the extended break between league games due to the international break could mean that he names a stronger side than he otherwise might have done for the Owls’ Group A opener.
Wednesday last featured in the EFL Trophy in 2022/23, exiting the competition at the first hurdle after winning one and losing two of their three group games.
Traditionally a knockout tournament from the start, the format of the competition was changed ahead of the 2016/17 season following the introduction of Premier League Under-21 sides. The first stage now sees teams drawn into groups of four.
Each team will play three games in the group stage, with the top two in each group progressing to the knockout stages. As per tradition, teams will earn three points for a victory and one point for a draw.
However, in the event of a game being level after 90 minutes, the contest will go straight to penalties, with the winner of the shootout securing an extra point.
Should Wednesday, who will face Accrington Stanley and Sunderland’s U21s in their other two Group A fixtures, progress to the knockout stages, each knockout game will be played over one leg.
Ties in the round of 32 and round of 16 will remain regionalised before switching to an open draw from the quarter-finals onwards. Four knockout rounds stand between the end of the group stage and the final at Wembley on April 11.
Round of 32 fixtures are scheduled to take place in the week commencing Monday, December 7. However, should Wednesday progress from Group A, they would need their first knockout game to be scheduled elsewhere, as they are pencilled in to face Leicester City on Thursday, December 10. As a result, an EFL Trophy fixture that midweek is out of the question.
The Owls were originally scheduled to face Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, December 12, but the fixture was brought forward after being selected for live broadcast on Sky Sports.