Preview | U18s visit league-leaders Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace U18s v West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South, Crystal Palace Training Ground, Saturday 8 March 2025, 11am GMT

West Ham United U18s will be keen to build on Wednesday's Premier League Cup semi-final victory over Derby County when we visit league-leading Crystal Palace back in the U18 Premier League South on Saturday.

Josh Ajala started our quick succession of goals against the young Rams last time out, as we scored two in two minutes. Josh Landers continued his fine goalscoring form to double our advantage a minute later, before Ajala started and finished a slick passing exchange involving Emeka Adiele, booking our place in the Premier League Cup showpiece, where we will face Reading.

A quick turnaround sees Lauris Coggin’s side flip attentions to the Premier League South and a trip to south London to meet rivals Crystal Palace.

With 15 games now under their belt, nine league fixtures remain for West Ham as they look to climb further up the table with a positive performance and result against the young Eagles.

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 on Sunday afternoon.

Previous Meeting...

In the reverse fixture, in January 2025, West Ham United endured a tough afternoon, falling to a 5-0 defeat against a clinical Palace side at Little Heath training ground.

A brace from Chuks Okoli, along with goals from Sebastian Williams, Benjamin Casey and George King, set the young Eagles on their way to victory in east London.

Rob Quinn’s side have only lost once since that clash early in the New Year, form which has seen them rise to the top of the division.

Opposition…

Sitting pretty at the top of the table, Crystal Palace are the current occupants of top spot in the U18 Premier League South, rising to the summit last weekend following a 2-0 victory at Fulham. However, there is a slightly misleading look to the table, with almost every team having played a different number of games so far.

Nonetheless, the young Eagles have enjoyed a strong league season to date, with eight wins, seven draws and four losses.

Following back-to-back defeats to Fulham and Aston Villa in late September, Palace went on a ten-game unbeaten run in the league, including four wins.

That run came to an end against Norwich in February, the young Eagles losing 4-1 away from home.

Last time out, Crystal Palace avenged the pain of an early-season thumping against the young Cottagers by beating them 2-0 at Motspur Park. Benjamin Casey gave Palace an early lead, and the visitors were comfortable from that moment, with Jerome Osei Kyremeh adding another goal in the second half.

A key player to watch is Jesse Derry - son of former Palace midfielder Shaun - who boasts an impressive nine goals in eight league games, which has subsequently seen him feature in the Eagles’ U21s squad in Premier League 2.

The Story So Far...

West Ham United U18s currently occupy eleventh place in Premier League South. 

Although their FA Youth Cup journey ended in the third round at Grimsby Town, their excellent form in the Premier League Cup has earned the young Irons a spot in the competition's final, where they have the potential to lift the trophy for the first time in the Club’s history against Reading.

U18 Premier League South