West Ham United Under-23s' Premier League 2 game at home to Liverpool, as well as the Under-21s’ final EFL Trophy group stage fixture at Portsmouth, have been moved.
The young Irons were originally due to host the Reds at Rush Green Stadium at 7pm on Friday 6 November, but this game will now kick-off at the earlier time of 2pm.
Meanwhile the match against Portsmouth, which was originally scheduled to begin at 7.45pm, will now commence at 7pm on Tuesday 10 November at Fratton Park.
Both matches will be played behind closed doors in line with safety guidelines and social distancing measures still in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the EFL Trophy, both West Ham and Portsmouth have already qualified from Group A of the Southern Section of this season’s competition, with Pompey's3-0 win at Southend United three weeks ago securing both teams' places in the knockout round.
West Ham U21s had opened their campaign with an excellent 3-1 win at Southend’s Roots Hall, courtesy of three superb strikes – the first two long-range strikes from the right and left boots of Mipo Odubeko respectively, before a fine Conor Coventry lob in injury time.
A top-class goal also saw the young Irons past Colchester United at the JobServe Community Stadium, with captain Coventry thundering in a shot from 30 yards to earn West Ham a 1-0 win in Essex.
The results mean that the Hammers' development squad has qualified for the knockout stages – which will be both regionalised and seeded – for the first time since 2017/18, only the second such time since academies were invited to participate four years ago.
Please note that all Academy fixtures will be played behind closed doors until further notice. Only key personnel will be admitted on site and matches will be played without supporters present, in line with safety guidelines and social distancing measures still in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
