Preview | U21s begin PL2 play-off campaign at home to Sunderland

West Ham United U21s v Sunderland U21s
Premier League 2, Play-Offs Round of 16, Rush Green Stadium, Saturday 26 April 2025, 12noon BST

West Ham United U21s begin their Premier League 2 play-off campaign this Saturday, hosting Sunderland at Rush Green Stadium in the round of 16.

Mark Robson’s side qualified as the fourth seed among the 16 play-off teams, and will therefore face the 13th-placed Black Cats at home.

The young Hammers will be seeking revenge after last season’s dramatic quarter-final defeat to the Wearsiders. West Ham took the lead three times, twice in extra-time, but were eventually beaten on penalties after 120 minutes.

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 - 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...

A live stream of the fixture, and a live blog, will be available across the Club’s website and app. A match report, highlights and reaction will also follow shortly after 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.

With the regular season now concluded, the 16 qualified teams turn their attention to the single-elimination play-offs, to be played across the months of April and May, with the top eight drawn at home for the first round of fixtures. The top 12 are also rewarded with a place in the following season’s Premier League International Cup competition.

Opposition...  

Last season’s Premier League 2 finalists, Sunderland U21s finished the 2024/25 regular season in 13th place, just three points above the play-off cut-off.

After scoring 12 unanswered goals in back-to-back wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town in February, their form has tailed off somewhat, with just one win in their last eight matches across all competitions. Nonetheless, they will take encouragement from their last play-off clash with the young Hammers, when they fought back from behind three times before winning 8-6 on penalties.

The two sides also met in this season’s league campaign back in January. At the time, West Ham sat 13th, below Sunderland in the standings, but a 1-0 win, courtesy of a second-half goal from Josh Ajala, kickstarted a seven-game winning streak. That run lifted the young Hammers to a comfortable fourth-place finish.

In the last five meetings between the sides, West Ham have won four, with their only loss being that play-off tie last season.

Ones To Watch…

Fresh from netting a brace in the U18s’ Premier League Cup final win at Reading, Josh Ajala heads into the U21 play-offs full of confidence. The second-year scholar has now scored 20 goals across both age groups this season. While he made a brief appearance in last year’s play-off win over Blackburn Rovers, this tie will mark his first full involvement in U21 knockout football.

In last week’s play-off preparation fixture against PSG Espoirs, Lewis Orford continued his excellent form. The 19-year-old midfielder has been directly involved in four of West Ham’s last five goals and was arguably the standout performer in Paris, scoring the first, playing a major role in the second, and controlling the tempo in midfield. After a season that’s included a Premier League debut, Orford will now aim to finish strongly by captaining the U21s on a deep play-off run.

For Sunderland, the potential return of Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi could be a significant boost. The versatile forward missed January’s meeting between the two sides due to first-team duties, being named on the bench for Sunderland’s goalless draw away at recently-promoted Burnley. Despite still being a scholar, he’s featured 12 times on the bench for Sunderland in the Championship and averaged nearly a goal a game in Premier League 2 when available for the U21s. The 18-year-old Belgian youth international played a huge role in last season’s play-off campaign which saw Sunderland reach the final. He led the line in every round, scoring in the round of 16, and netted a dramatic extra-time winner in the semi-final with the last kick of the game to send his team through to the final.

Route To The Final...

As the fourth seed, the young Hammers will play the round of 16 and, should they reach it, the final at home. The quarter and semi-finals would be away ties.