Manchester City U21s v West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Joie Stadium, Saturday 5 October 2024, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s return to Premier League 2 action this Saturday with perhaps their toughest test of the season so far, an away trip to Manchester City.
With five wins out of five, our development side sit atop of the Premier League 2 standings, but a defeat to City would see the home side leapfrog them into pole position.
How To Follow…
A live blog will be available on the Club’s website and app, while a match report and reaction will follow shortly after the full-time whistle. Highlights will be available on Sunday.
Coach’s View…
Premier League 2 champions for three seasons in a row from 2021 to 2023, Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad’s (EDS) track record speaks for itself.
A formidable force not only at the top level, City’s hunger for titles extends well beyond their senior squad. With a footballing philosophy that mirrors the first team, lead coach Mark Robson believes City’s EDS are likely to provide the sternest test of the season so far for his young side.
He said: “We’ll expect a team that can look after the ball and hurt you. They play very much like their first team in that sense. They’ve got good players from all around the world. It will probably be our biggest test of the season so far, but one we’re really looking forward to.
“We’re in a good place, having rested a number of players and brought some off early on Wednesday against Bilbao to make sure we’re ready for the weekend. Hopefully everyone goes into Saturday evening’s game nice and fresh. We know we’re up against a really strong team, but they’ll be facing a good side in us as well. It should be a great match.”
Opposition…
Since their defeat on the opening day away to Liverpool, Manchester City boast a perfect record in Premier League 2. In other words, a win on Saturday would mean City’s development side would leapfrog West Ham in the standings, despite Robson’s men taking all three points in each of their first five games of the season.
The young Hammers are without a win in their last four head-to-heads and have not taken all three points away to City since 2019. In addition, City’s EDS come into this one in red hot form, having scored three or more goals in each of their last four outings, including a derby day 3-1 victory away to Manchester United.
It comes as no surprise that Robson describes tomorrow evening’s fixture as West Ham’s toughest test of the season so far.
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.
The Story So Far…
West Ham United U21s have been in sensational form, winning all five of their Premier League 2 fixtures to date and keeping three clean sheets along the way.
With an international break right around the corner, Robson’s men will be eager to head into the three-week hiatus with a sixth consecutive victory under their belts.
