Preview | In-form U21s host Leicester City in PL2

West Ham United U21s v Leicester City U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 14 March 2025, 7pm GMT 

West Ham United U21s play their penultimate home game of the Premier League 2 regular season on Friday evening, welcoming Leicester City to Rush Green Stadium.

With just three regular season games left, Mark Robson’s side are on track to beat their tally of 42 points from last season which landed them a second-place finish. The team with the best record in the new calendar year, the young Hammers have won all four of their home games in 2025, conceding just a single goal.

Their next test however is against an in-form Leicester City side that have won their last four games in a row, scoring 15 goals in the process.

Tickets...

Tickets can be purchased at the turnstiles, priced at £5 for Adults and £1 for U18s. Season Ticket Holders can attend for free by showing their Season Ticket at the entrance.

Travel...

The postcode for Rush Green Stadium - at West Ham United’s first-team training ground - is RM7 0LU.

To access the ground via public transport, fans can take a train to Romford station, then board a 5, 103 or 175 bus for the 15-minute ride and get off at the Barton Avenue stop.

Supporters using public transport are advised to check their journeys before they travel, using resources such as TfL’s Journey Planner and the TfL Go app. Supporters may also wish to visit the National Rail website if travelling on the rail network.

Fans wishing to attend this Premier League 2 fixture by car should note that there is no parking available for spectators at Rush Green Stadium due to onsite construction works.
 

How To Follow...

The game will be blogged live, while a live stream of the fixture will be available on the Club’s YouTube channel.

A match report, highlights and reaction will also follow the full-time whistle.

Premier League 2 Explained…

To minimise the impact of relegation on future groups of U21 players, the Premier League introduced a new format to its development phase competition in 2023/24.

Replacing the two-division system, the 26 Category One academies now compete in a single tier with 20 regular season fixtures before the top 16 seeded teams advance to single-elimination play-offs.

Regular season fixtures are determined by a draw made according to clubs’ performances over the last three seasons. Each team plays 20 different opponents before the play-offs in May, where they will be drawn against each other based on league positions, with the higher seeded team playing at home. The top 12 are also rewarded with a place in the following season’s Premier League International Cup competition.

Opposition...  

Having missed out on the play-offs last season, Leicester City U21s have already surpassed their 2023/24 points total with six games to spare. Now firmly in the hunt for a play-off spot, the young Foxes have surged up the table, climbing from the play-off cut-off point in 17th to a place in the top eight.

Leicester’s attacking threat will be put firmly to the test however against a West Ham side that boasts the best defensive record in the 26-team division.

The two sides last met on the final day of last season in a 3-1 Leicester City win, albeit in very different circumstances with West Ham having already secured second place and Leicester out of contention for the post-season play-offs.

How Things Stand In Premier League 2...

West Ham United U21s closed the gap to second-placed Fulham to just a single point after earning their first draw of the season in their game in hand against Liverpool.

With three matches left, the young Hammers are in contention for another top-two finish, with games against Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough still to come. Fulham, the team standing in their way, will have to navigate a tough run-in against league leaders Manchester City, as well as away trips to Brighton & Hove Albion and Blackburn Rovers.