Bristol Rovers to face south-west duo in EFL Trophy group stage with fourth team yet to be drawn

Bristol Rovers will face two south-west-based clubs in Exeter City and Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy group stage this season, having been drawn into Group G of this year's competition.

A fourth side will be added to the group with the draw taking place live on Sky Sports from 2:30pm on Thursday. This will be an Under-21s team with Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United the possible opponents.

Under-21s sides participating in the competition play all their matches away from home, meaning that at least one of the three group stage games will be played at the Mem with the venue for the clashes with Exeter and Swindon yet to be confirmed. However, for reference, last season Rovers played a League One team in Cheltenham Town at home and a League Two side in Newport County away.

The Gas finished second in last season's group behind West Ham Under-21s, whose side was mainly made up of players that had been part of the Hammers' FA Youth Cup success the previous season. The East London outfit won all three of their group games and were particularly impressive against Rovers, winning 3-1.

In his first game in charge, Matt Taylor then saw his team knocked out of the competition in the round of 32 as Crawley Town came from behind to win 2-1 at the Broadfield Stadium.

The Gas have never won the EFL Trophy but have been runners up twice, losing to Tranmere Rovers in 1990 and Doncaster Rovers in 2007. However, the competition format with the inclusion of academy sides has been seen as controversial by many fanbases with attendances at Rovers' matches in the competition last season particularly low.

It's been two years since the Gas last faced Swindon, with the pair facing off in League Two during Rovers' promotion season as the Robins took four points. However, the most recent meeting came in this competition two seasons ago, a 3-0 victory at the Mem for the Gas. Meanwhile, there will now be at least three matches between Rovers and Exeter this season with the dates for the league meetings to be revealed in the EFL fixture release at 9am on Wednesday.

The EFL have revealed that group stage matches will commence in early September with dates to be confirmed following fixture release day on Wednesday. They have also confirmed the amounts of prize money on offer at every available point with the eventual winner potentially pocketing a total of £310,000, although no amount for a semi-final win has been listed.

EFL Trophy prize money 2024/25

• Participation: £20,000

• Group stage: £10,000 per win, £5,000 per draw

• Round of 32: £20,000

• Round of 16: £40,000

• Quarter-final: £50,000

• Runners up: £50,000

• Winner: £100,000