West Ham United U21s v Brighton & Hove Albion U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 26 September 2025, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s will be seeking their fourth straight win in all competitions when they return to Premier League 2 action this Friday, hosting an in-form Brighton & Hove Albion side.
Our young Hammers have scored 12 goals in their last three games, earning convincing league victories over Sunderland U21s and Birmingham U21s either side of a 5-1 Vertu Trophy triumph at MK Dons.
Brighton & Hove Albion, on the other hand, come into this one in excellent form themselves, having opened their account for 2025/26 with five wins in six games.
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.
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 29 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 April and May, where they will be drawn against each other based on league positions, with the higher seeded team playing at home. The top 16 are also rewarded with a place in the following season’s Premier League International Cup competition.
New for this season, the eight clubs finishing between 17th and 24th will enter a cross-category play-off competition alongside the top eight teams from the Professional Development League (Category Two). This competition will also feature a knockout format, starting with a round of 16.
Travel...
The postcode for Rush Green Stadium - at 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.
How To Follow...
The game will be blogged live, while a live stream of the fixture will be available across the Club’s website, app and YouTube channel. A match report, highlights and reaction will also follow the full-time whistle.
Opposition…
One of the most in-form U21 sides, Brighton & Hove Albion - alongside Fulham - are one of only two development teams to have recorded five wins in all competitions so far this season.
Last season they boasted the best defensive record in Premier League 2, and that defence is proving equally as difficult to breach this term, with just two goals conceded in their opening four league fixtures.
Their flying start to the Premier League 2 campaign saw two of their players nominated for the league’s Player of the Month award for August, with Shane Nti and Charlie Tasker recognised for their early-season exploits.
Winger Nti already has three games and a couple of assists to his name to add to goals scored in National League Cup wins over Aldershot Town and Sutton United. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, full-back Tasker registered three assists and kept two clean sheets during the month of August.
That form earned Tasker his first senior appearances, featuring in Brighton’s two 6-0 Carabao Cup wins over Oxford United and Barnsley, the latter of which also saw fellow academy prospect Harry Howell score his maiden first-team goal.
Previous Meeting...
The two sides last met on the opening day of last season, where our ten-man U21s opened their 2024/25 account with a 2-0 victory at the AMEX Elite Performance Centre.
Sean Moore opened the scoring in the first half and, despite going down to ten men in the second, our young Hammers kept the Seagulls at bay before striking on the counter attack through Emeka Adiele’s first goal at U21s level in stoppage time.
The Story So Far...
Having opened our account for the 2025/26 Premier League 2 campaign with defeats against the reigning Premier League International Cup champions, Nottingham Forest, and reigning Premier League 2 champions, Manchester City, the young Hammers have started to hit their stride.
Our young Hammers recorded successive victories against Sunderland and Birmingham City in PL2, either side of our joint-biggest win in the EFL Trophy over MK Dons.
