Nick Hext is backing two 50/1 selections in his preview of this season's Checkatrade Trophy.
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Time to party as the Checkatrade Trophy is back for season two of the much-maligned competition.
Sky Bet League One, League Two and invited under-21 teams are once again battling it out for glory at Wembley.
The invited under-21 teams from the Premier League and Championship this season are: Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Leicester City, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United.
Fulham, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham are all newcomers to this season's renewal and there's also the following format changes from the Checkatrade Trophy's official website.
- EFL team selection criteria amended to allow increased flexibility for League One and League Two clubs.
- An increase in the total competition fund to £3million.
- Each group will continue to contain one invited Under-21 team with the remainder made up of EFL clubs from either League One or League Two. Groups will be formed to minimise overall travel time for EFL clubs and fans.
- Invited Under-21 teams will play their Group games away from home.
- Regionalisation until the Quarter-Final stage (improved from Round Two in 2016/17) to minimise overall travel time for clubs and fans.
- Flexibility of fixture dates to allow teams to schedule games outside of international weeks.
- As part of the proposals, the selection criteria for invited Under-21 teams will remain as ‘six players from the starting 11 must be under the age of 21 as at 30 June 2017.’
The key bits of information there are the under-21 sides will be playing away from home in the group stage and the flexibility of League One and League Two clubs to change their starting line-ups, a major bone of contention from last season.
As well as that, the increased regionalisation will see me return to my traditional tipping stance of one from the north and one from the south in this competition, formerly the artist know as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
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Crewe's 66/1 triumph in 2013 is a prized memory for long-term followers of these tips but it's not the Alex I want as my selection from the northern side of the draw.
Bury are alongside Blackburn, Rochdale and Stoke under-21s in Group C of the Northern Section and I think the Shakers have the squad strength to cope with a sustained push in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Boss Lee Clark has added plenty of quality to his squad over the summer and they can get out of what looks like a tough group, although it will be interesting to see how Blackburn cope with the ignominy of having their under-21 side replaced by the first-team in the competition.
I don't think Bury have quite enough quality to last the pace in the League One promotion scramble but I do like the 50/1 for them as an each-way shout to lift this trophy at Wembley.
Having one of the larger first-team squads in the third tier will allow the Shakers to field stronger line-ups than their rivals and Clark will find the push for a place at Wembley a welcome distraction if promotion is out of reach.
I like Southend, who Crewe beat in that 2013 JPT final, as my 50/1 each-way selection from the south.
Phil Brown's Shrimpers are another strong League One outfit who can use the Checkatrade Trophy as a chance for glory if a promotion challenge proves a little too much.
Southend are in Group B of the Southern Section with Colchester, Gillingham and Reading Under-21s.
They look the strongest side to me of that quartet and it was only a penalty shoot-out defeat to eventual finalists Oxford that knocked them out of last season's competition.
For those looking for shorter prices in the outright Checkatrade Trophy betting, Sky Bet's 'division of winner' odds make for interesting viewing.
It's 5/6 that a League One club lifts the trophy. That has been the case in all of the last eight seasons since Luton, then of League Two and on their way to relegation out of the EFL, beat Scunthorpe 3-2 in the 2009 final.
It would be a convincing case for that to definitely be the outcome again if this second season of under-21 involvement didn't have the unknown of the added participation of Manchester City and Tottenham.
City in particular can join Chelsea in making a real challenge for glory if they learn the lessons of those sides that stumbled during their participation last time out.
I'd rather have Bury and Southend to provide interest at much smaller stakes then fully banking on the Premier League big guns not getting the hang of things.
Posted at 1400 BST on 14/08/17.
Related links
Sky Bet's Checkatrade Trophy odds
Checkatrade Trophy fixtures