This is a change from the previous season, where Premiership clubs typically had more home fixtures than the Championship sides.

The remaining 2 Championship clubs, Cambridge and Chinnor, were not invited, as Cambridge had finished 11th in the previous season, and Chinnor were newly promoted into the league.

The two excluded clubs set up a two-club two-leg challenge match, the "Not The Prem Cup" as a form of protest.

The group winners and three best placed runners up would qualify for the quarter finals.

The top 5 seeds are the group winners based on points – if teams are level, tiebreakers are applied.