PL2 final date confirmed – a day before the game

However, major development work is taking place at the Etihad, meaning the game could not be played there.

Southampton had proposed for the match to be played at St Mary’s, but this was rejected by City, who proposed the 7,000-seater Joie Stadium, which has been home to their women’s and Academy sides since 2014 and also staged matches at the 2022 Women’s European Championship.

This was eventually accepted as the only viable venue by the Premier League. City privately argue that Southampton’s delay in accepting the Joie Stadium as the venue caused the television coverage to fall through. 

On April 24th, the Premier League had announced that the final would be played between 16th and 19th May. They did not reply when asked for a comment by TGG.

The short notice about the final caused dismay among some fans. Writing on X, Southampton fan Will said: “24 hours notice? Living up north would have been a rare chance to watch Saints, but short notice scuppers that chance.”

Another follower, Cam Melling, wrote: “A day’s notice is insane.”

For the second successive season, the competition has been played under the Swiss-style format, with 26 Category One teams in a single division. 

The top 16 went into a play-off competition, with City and the Saints reaching the final. As they finished higher in the league, in top place, City will play the final at home. 

In the knock-out stages, City beat Liverpool 2-1 and Arsenal 3-2, both after extra-time, before overcoming local rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the semi-final.

Southampton saw off Leicester 5-3 after extra-time, Fulham 5-2 and Crystal Palace 2-1, in another tie which needed the extra 30 minutes.

City topped the table at the end of the regular league season with 47 points from their 20 games, while the Saints were seventh on 34 points.

Under the competition rules, the teams are seeded into different pots based on their performance in the competition over the previous three seasons. During the campaign, each side plays all the others in their pot once as well as three to five teams from all the other pots either home or away.

The play-off draw is based on league position, with the team finishing first playing the one which finished 16th and so on. The higher-placed team is at home.

The top 12 clubs are also invited to take part in the following season’s Premier League International Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur were the first winners of the new-style competition last season.

Before the change, Premier League 2 was split into two divisions and Manchester City won the Division 1 title in each of its last three seasons, while Southampton were the final Division 2 champions.