Newcastle United U21s v West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Whitley Park, Friday 20 September 2024, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s are aiming to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League 2 campaign this Friday when they make the journey to the North East to face Newcastle United.
The Hammers have begun the season with three consecutive wins over Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton and Norwich City, and will be looking to keep pace with joint-leaders Arsenal.
Mark Robson’s side were left frustrated at Rodney Parade on Tuesday as Newport County claimed a late 1-0 win in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy to severely damage their hopes of progression from Southern Group H.
Despite that defeat, the young Hammers can take plenty of positives from their strong start in the Premier League 2 ahead of what is expected to be a difficult clash for West Ham.
Tickets…
Tickets can be purchased at the turnstiles, priced at just £3 for Adults and £1 for Concessions.
How To Follow…
There will be a live stream of the fixture available across the Club’s website, TikTok and YouTube channel on Friday night.
A live blog will be also be available on the Club’s website and app from 6pm, while a match report and reaction will follow shortly after the full-time whistle. Highlights will follow on Saturday.
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.
Coach’s View…
Lead coach Mark Robson was left immensely proud of his young Hammers’ performance on Tuesday as they fell to a narrow defeat at Newport in the EFL Trophy.
While he feels his young players were worthy of a point in South Wales, he believes they will benefit from the experience when it comes to facing Newcastle United on Friday.
“I’m really proud of how the boys played on Tuesday,” Robson confirmed. “These games are always tough, and the way they handled it, staying assured in their play, was impressive. We were unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
“The boys should go into Friday’s game full of confidence. For many of them, it’ll be the first time playing against Newcastle since they don’t often meet them at younger age levels, but we’re in good form and have been performing well. It’s a great chance to bounce back, and we’ll be looking to secure all three points.”
Opposition...
It’s been a mixed start to the season for Newcastle United U21s with a loss, a draw and a win from their opening three Premier League 2 games, but they did register an impressive 2-2 draw against one of the EFL League Two title favourites, Bradford City, in the EFL Trophy in midweek, and were awarded a bonus point for their penalty shootout win.
Jack Ross’ side could easily have had more league points on the board, too. The young Toon were unfortunate not to beat their local rivals Sunderland on the opening night of PL2 action last month, before earning their first points of the season away at Tottenham Hotspur. A narrow 1-0 defeat against Derby County three weeks ago will have Newcastle yearning for a return to winning ways.
They will have acknowledged that a disappointing 22nd-place finish last season wasn’t up to the high standards set in the North East, and will be looking to put themselves in contention for a play-off spot come the end of the campaign.
The Story So Far…
The U21s couldn’t have enjoyed a much better start to the campaign with three victories and two clean sheets in their opening fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton and Norwich City.
With several players having enjoyed a successful international break with their respective countries, and then featured in the EFL Trophy, the young Hammers will be raring to go at Whitley Park when the PL2 makes its long-awaited return on Friday night.
Their perfect start to the season sees them sit in joint-second place going into one of their longest away trips of 2024/25.
