Stanley face young Wolves in Trophy group

SHELDAN KEAY

ACCRINGTON Stanley have been drawn in Group B of the Northern Section of the newly-revamped EFL Trophy.

The Reds will line up alongside Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra and Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s. The EFL Trophy is introducing group stages for the first time, replacing the usual straight knockout format that has been regularly used in the past.

A number of U21 teams from Premier League and Championship clubs will also be taking part in the competition.

The likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool rejected the invitation to join, but Premier League champions Leicester and Chelsea are among those to accept. It means there are now 64 teams in the competition, but EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey insists it is just a trial period at this stage.

“If it’s a success it will continue. If not we’ll review and see where we go. If two Premier League clubs get to the final I suspect the reinvention of the competition might have to take another move in a further year,” he said.

“We’re a long way from that position yet. Clubs have got a lot of distance to travel to get to that final at Wembley, and it’ll be very interesting to see how those games work out over that period.”

There is one academy side in each of the 16 groups, with the top two from each qualifying for the first knockout round of 32 teams.