Chelsea U18s v West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South, Cobham Training Ground, Saturday 22 February 2025, 11am GMT
West Ham United U18s will look to make it back-to-back away wins in London derbies when they travel to Cobham Training Ground on Saturday morning to face Chelsea.
Hoping to build on their clean sheet and victory at Fulham in midweek, Lauris Coggin’s young Hammers will make the short journey to south-west London to face a free-scoring Chelsea side who have won their last three league games, finding the back of the net eleven times.
How To Follow…
A report and post-match reaction will be available on the Club’s website and app following the final whistle on Saturday, with highlights to follow.
Previous Meeting...
In the reverse fixture, in September 2024, West Ham United were edged out by the odd goal in five.
Despite the Hammers taking the lead through former Chelsea Academy striker Josh Ajala, the Blues edged themselves in front before Mehmet Halim had seemingly rescued a point for West Ham with 20 minutes left.
However, ten minutes from time, Chelsea captain Ollie Harrison converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 and snatch all three points for the visitors.
Opposition…
Defending Premier League South champions Chelsea made a shaky start to their title defence, opening their account this season with three consecutive losses, shipping eleven goals in defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal and Leicester.
Since then however, the Blues have grown into the season and are still very much in the hunt for top spot in the league. Top goalscorers in the southern division, Chelsea are currently three points behind leaders Aston Villa, albeit having played two games more.
Having recently been knocked out of the FA Youth Cup and Premier League Cup, it is now full focus on the league for Hassan Sulaiman’s side and defending their Premier League South title.
The Story So Far...
West Ham United U18s climbed to ninth place in the Premier League South following their 1-0 midweek win at Fulham, nine points behind pace setters Aston Villa.
Elsewhere, Coggin’s U18s have reached the last four of the Premier League Cup alongside Derby County, Liverpool and Reading.
U18 Premier League South
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Aston Villa | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 25 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 25 |
| 3 | Southampton | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 24 |
| 4 | Fulham | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 22 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 22 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 19 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 16 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -6 | 15 |
| 11 | Norwich City | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -2 | 13 |
| 12 | Reading | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -14 | 13 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -13 | 11 |
