How does Crystal Palace’s Conference League win mean Rochdale will play an extra game?
Crystal Palace secured their 3rd major trophy in a year on Wednesday night, beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the UEFA Conference League Final, securing Europa League football for next season. The Eagles secured their first European trophy thanks to a second-half goal from Jean Phillpe Mateta.
However, for four teams in League Two, it means another game to be played - to ensure sufficient balance in the EFL Cup. For the second time in two years, the EFL Cup will have a preliminary round, with Tranmere, Crawley, Rochdale and York City all vying for a place in the first round.
How Did We Get Here?
Places win sees them as the ninth English team in Europe, alongside Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, AFC Bournemouth, Sunderland and Brighton & Hove Albion. The extra place is two-fold: firstly, Palace securing their second major title in a year means they earn European football via the cup winners' berth. Unlike last year, they will be guaranteed Europa League football, despite missing out last season due to UEFA rules on Multi-club ownership.
Despite Aston Villa winning the Europa League, their spot in next season's Champions League will be via their league place, with their cup winners' berth redistributed - officially known as “Rebalancing”. The aim of these rules is to ensure that spots are evenly distributed amongst Europe's elite sides and nations.
Under the "rebalancing" rules, the automatic group/league stage spot is awarded to the club with the highest individual club coefficient among all teams currently entered in the Champions League qualifying rounds. This is currently Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, who finished second in the Primeira Liga and normally earns a spot in the Champions League playoff round.
European coefficients
English clubs have also been performing well in Europe this season, and therefore, a fifth Champions League spot has been earned, with Liverpool securing their spot amongst European royalty next season. Sunderland have been promoted into the Europa League thanks to Manchester City’s FA Cup victory - with eighth-placed Brighton taking the Citizens’ EFL Cup Europa Conference League berth.
So how does this apply to Tranmere, Crawley, Rochdale and York City? The rules of the EFL cup dictate that all European sides receive a bye to the third round of the competition, usually in early September.
Therefore, there is an odd fixture, with one more than the usual eight sides entering the third round, a preliminary round needs to take place. Therefore, the 21st and 22nd place sides in League Two, Crawley and Tranmere, alongside newly promoted sides York City and Rochdale, will have to face off for two places in the first round of the EFL Cup.
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North South Divide.. Or Not?
The draws for the first and second rounds of the competition are regionalised to reduce travel costs for both clubs and fans, with the hope that ticket sales will be boosted. Regional draws create more local derbies and neighbouring matchups. This means that Fans are far more likely to travel to a nearby away game, hopefully, which raises stadium attendances and gate revenues higher for these early-stage matches
However, the nature of the preliminary round this year means that there is a distinct imbalance, Rochdale, York and Tranmere are northern, whereas Crawley is very much in the south. Therefore, there is a distinct scenario where a northern team actually enters the southern round, but who will it be?
Tranmere is more southern than Rochdale or York, so the logical thing to do would be pair them up with Crawley and stage a rematch of the National League title battle from last season. Should Logic prevail, Rochdale will face their National League rivals from last season, with the Dale and Miastermen going all the way in the title race. Rochdale lost out despite accruing 104 points, instead needing a 120th-minute Wembley winner to ensure their status in League 2 - despite going 2-0 down to Boreham Wood.
What Happens Next?
With the EFL cup first round taking place before the EFL Championship kicks off, on the weekend of August 7-9, the EFL are yet to confirm the draw. The first round draw is usually a staple part of EFL fixture day, which this season is on the 25th June - fixtures are out at nine, and the draw is usually at 11. The preliminary round last year took place in early August, one week before the first round. With the fixture list moving forward one week this year, we can expect the preliminary round to be late July.
Written And Researched By Thomas Hargreaves
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