The new format for Premier League 2 has been announced ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Aston Villa Under-21s have competed in PL2 since its introduction ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, with the league made up of two divisions.
The new format sees 26 teams from Category One Academies form one division.
Teams will be divided into five pots based on their performance over the past three seasons.
Fixtures will then be determined by a draw made according to clubs’ positions in the five seeded pots.
There will be 20 Matchweeks, with each team playing 20 regular-season matches throughout the season.
Teams will play each club in their own seeding pot once, as well as three to five teams in all other pots either home or away.
Results will generate a table ranking the 26 teams. After the regular season of 20 Matchweeks has completed, the top 16 teams will qualify for a single elimination playoff.
Teams will be drawn against each other based on their league positions, for example with the team finishing first facing the team that finished 16th. These will be one-off elimination matches with the higher-seeded team at home.
In addition, the teams finishing the regular season in the top 12 will be invited to take part in the next season’s Premier League International Cup competition.
The teams competing in the new-look PL2 are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Wolves.
The fixtures are set to be announced in the week commencing 24 July.
