The Premier League 2 is the highest phase of development football in the country, where all 26 Category One Academy sides are competing against one another in a single league.
The format for the league [changed to a Swiss-style last season](https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/academy/premier-league-2-changes-swiss-style-format-2324/), where teams each faced 20 of the 26 sides in an initial league phase before the top 16 sides advanced to a single-elimination play-off stage to determine the overall winner.
This season, Palace have mathematically secured their place in the PL2 play-off stage with two games to spare. The intial game in the play-off stage is determined by league position, with the side which finished first facing the side in 16th, second against 15th and so on.
It will now be the Eagles’ aim to finish as high as possible in the league phase to ensure that they begin the play-off phase with a home tie. Sides which finish in first to eighth place are guaranteed a home tie in their opening game of the round of 16.