All you need to know about the new PL2 format

Academy

29 Apr 2024

The Premier League 2 has adopted a Swiss-style format in the 2023/24 season, a marked change from the previous two-tier league system. Palace U21s have completed the initial league stage and will now compete in the play-offs to determine the overall winner.

Summary

Promotion and relegation across two divisions removed
All 26 Category One Academies compete in a single league
Teams will be seeded based on multi-year performance
Fixtures drawn from five pots based on seeding
A minimum of 20 games will be played against all sides in the same pot and some in other pots
The top 16 sides at the end of the initial 20-game run will qualify for the play-off positions
Teams finishing inside the top 12 will also be invited to the 2024/25 Premier League International Cup
Palace finished in ninth place after the end of the initial 20-game season
Palace will face Liverpool in their first game of the 16-team play-off to decide the title winner

Darren Powell's Eagles finished the regular campaign strongly, rounding off a ninth place finish with a resounding 5-0 win over table-topping Tottenham Hotspur at the VBS Community Stadium.

The ninth place finish means that the side have not only qualified for the play-off stage, where they will take on Liverpool in the round of 16, but also qualified for next season's Premier League International Cup.

The play-off stage itself will be contested as 1st place v 16th place, 2nd v 15th and so on. Palace finished in ninth place, hence the clash against eigth place Liverpool. Should Powell's side overcome the red half of Merseyside, they will go on to face either Spurs or Aston Villa in the quarter-final, with a potential semi-final clash against one of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Brighton & Hove Albion.

The new PL2 format explained

During the Premier League Annual General Meeting, shareholders voted in favour of the change to make a shift away from the format which has existed since 2015/16.

Under this new system, all 26 Category One Academies will field an Under-21 side in the same league, eliminating promotion and relegation between the existing two-tier system.

This model is inspired by the tournament structure used in chess and a similar model will also be employed in the UEFA Champions League starting from 2024/25.

The 26 teams were grouped into five pots based on their performance in the competition over the past three years. This meant that each team will play a minimum of 20 matches in the regular season - six fewer than the 26 matches Palace faced in the Premier League 2 Division 1 last season.

Teams will face each club in their respective pot, as well as four or five teams from all other pots, either at home or away. Following these matches, the combined table will determine the play-off positions, with the top 16 teams advancing to the play-off stage to compete for the overall title.

Games in the play-off stage will be one-off clashes, with the games heading to extra-time and then penalties if the scores remain level.

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