 The format of the knockout stage remained unchanged from 2012, with two-legged semi-finals followed by a two-legged final.At the other end of the table, the bottom club is now automatically relegated.Effective with the 2017–18 season, the promotion play-offs were scrapped for a minimum of three seasons, to be replaced with automatic promotion for the club finishing atop the league at the end of the home-and-away season (provided said club meets minimum Premiership standards).