County rivals are kept apart in EFL Trophy draw

CHELTENHAM Town and Forest Green have avoided each other in the EFL Trophy draw.

The groups for League One and Two clubs have been pre-determined ahead of the the invited Premier League clubs being entered into the draw on Friday.

The draw to decide which of these sides will face Cheltenham and Forest Green will take place live on TALKSPORT as part of the Jim White show at 12.30pm.

Forest Green are in Group D with Coventry City and Walsall.

The Robins will face Exeter City and Newport County.

In the previous two seasons, Cheltenham and Forest Green have been paired together in the groups with Rovers winning on both occasions.

Possible opponents for Cheltenham and Forest Green are Arsenal, Brighton, Chelsea, Fulham, Norwich, Southampton, Tottenham and West Ham.

The competition features a total of 64 teams, made up of the 48 teams from League One and League Two (24 from each division) and 16 Category One academy sides.

The teams are split into 16 regional groups of four teams, with eight groups from the northern region and eight from the southern region.

The top two teams qualify for the knockout stages, which remain regionalised until the quarter-finals.

The final is played at Wembley Stadium, and is due to be held on Sunday, April 5, 2020.

The first round of matches takes place in the week commencing September 2.

In the group stage, clubs are awarded three points for a win, and one point for a draw, like in their respective leagues.

However, when a game finishes in a draw after 90 minutes, the two sides will compete in a penalty shootout, with an additional point for the winners.

The knockout stages are regionalised until the quarterfinals, all games are one-off ties, which will be decided by penalties if the score is level after 90 minutes, with no extra time.

However, the final will go to extra time and penalties, if required.