West Ham United U18s v Nottingham Forest U18s
U18 Premier League Cup Group E, Little Heath Training Ground, Saturday 4 October 2025, 12noon BST
West Ham United U18s continue their Premier League Cup title defence on Saturday morning hosting Nottingham Forest at Little Heath Training Ground.
Our young Hammers opened their account in this season’s competition with a convincing 3-1 win at Sunderland thanks to an Andre Dike hat-trick back on 26 August.
That victory over the Black Cats extended our U18s’ unbeaten run in this competition to seven matches, dating back to their quarter-final exit to Manchester City over 18 months ago. In the intervening period, the young Irons have defeated Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Manchester United, Derby County and Reading - and drawn 4-4 at Everton - on their way to lifting the trophy for the first time in April this year.
How To Follow…
A report and post-match reaction will be available on the Club’s website and app following the final whistle, with highlights to follow.
Opposition…
Nottingham Forest U18s will be hoping it’s a case of fourth time’s a charm, having failed to qualify for the knockout stages of this competition in each of their three previous participations.
In fact, they have been drawn in West Ham’s group for the third time in a row, with a win apiece in those two previous meetings.
This season, Forest have made a strong start to their league campaign sitting fifth in the 14-team Premier League North table with three wins to their name after fifve games. In the Premier League Cup, they are level on points with our young Hammers having opened their account with a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.
With only group winners progressing to the quarter-finals, Saturday’s match will be crucial in determining the Group E winner.
Previous Meeting...
Our U18s last met Nottingham Forest at this stage in last year’s competition, which Lauris Coggin’s men went on to win.
After a defeat and a draw in the league, our 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in last season’s group stage, courtesy of goals from current U21s captain Airidas Golambeckis and Chinaza Nwosu, who is incidentally now with the Reds following a transfer in the summer, secured our first win of the season.
That game saw Joe Scanlon make his full debut for the U18s at just 15 years old. This season, as a first-year scholar, Scanlon has started every game at left-back for our U18s.
Tournament Rules...
The U18 Premier League Cup was expanded this season from 24 to 32 teams divided into eight groups of four. With only the group winners qualifying for the quarter-finals, every match carries significant weight.
Previously, group winners and the best second-placed team qualified for the last eight but with an extra group this season, only group winners will progress to the quarter-finals.
This season, the young Hammers have been drawn in Group E and will face Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town having already travelled to Sunderland in their first game.
Last Time Out in the Premier League Cup...
Lauris Coggin's men began their title defence with a 3-1 win away at Sunderland thanks to an Andre Dike hat-trick which has them top of Group E going into matchday two on goal difference.
This Year’s Squad...
A total of 20 players featured for the Hammers during last season’s Cup run, including several U16s who have since stepped up to the U18s.
Among them were Tomas Jonyla, Scanlon and Chuk Obi, who all appeared in the group stage as schoolboys and this summer signed their full-time scholarships.
From the title-winning squad, the following players remain eligible for this year’s competition as second-year scholars: Aaron Kamara and goalkeeper Lanre Awesu (both starters in the final), along with Lewis Beckford, Andre Dike, Majid Balogun, David Chigwada and Fin Hooper.
Captain of the U21s development squad Airidas Golambeckis, who started every game in last season's cup run, also remains eligible for U18s competitions.
