Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s v West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Keys Park, Hednesford, Monday 3 October 2025, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s return to Premier League 2 action on Monday evening looking to extend their unbeaten league run to six games when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in Hednesford, Staffordshire.
After consecutive defeats to open their account for the campaign, our young Hammers have hit their stride with wins over Sunderland, Birmingham City and Aston Villa, alongside draws against Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal. They sit tenth in the 29-team league table, four points clear of the play-off cut-off point.
Following the promotion of U21 Academy coaching staff to Nuno Espírito Santo’s first-team staff, Head of Coaching and Player Development Greg Lincoln will continue to lead the U21 development squad in the short term, assisted by Academy Transition and Pathways Manager Mark Phillips, U18s Coach Zavon Hines and U18s Goalkeeper Coach Chris Lewington. The Club will make further announcements on the Academy coaching structure going forward at the appropriate time.
Tickets...
Hammers fans based in the West Midlands or who fancy a trip to the game can watch the U21s in action at Keys Park by purchasing tickets HERE.
Admission is priced at £4 for Adults and £2 for Concessions (Students with ID and 16 to 21-year-olds). U16s can enter for free.
Travel...
Keys Park is located approximately seven miles from Junction 11 of the M6 in Staffordshire.
By public transport, the nearest train station to Keys Park is Hednesford, between Birmingham New Street and Rugeley Trent Valley. The station is 1.2 miles from the ground, approximately a 25-30 minute walk.
How To Follow...
The game will be blogged live, while a live stream of the fixture will be available across the Club’s YouTube channel, website and app. A match report, highlights and reaction will also follow 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 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.
Opposition…
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s have made an excellent start to their league campaign, losing just one of their opening seven games, and are unbeaten at home.
Wolves have stood out for their attack, with a potent front three of Mateus Mané, Fletcher Holman and Dani Ángel all registering at least five direct goal contributions in all competitions. In fact, the team has only failed to score in one of their 15 matches in all competitions.
Out of contention in the National League Cup, Wolves have taken their qualification to the Vertu Trophy knockout stages to their final group game after an impressive win at League One Wigan Athletic, and are top of their Premier League International Cup group. In addition to these competitions which our young Hammers are also in, Wolves also compete in the Premier League Cup, meaning they have played three more games than West Ham at this stage of the season.
Previous Meeting...
The last few generations of U21s have only lost twice in their last ten meetings going back to 2015.
The two sides last met just over 12 months ago, also in Premier League 2. A last-gasp goal deep into stoppage time condemned our U21s to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Kidderminster Harriers’ Aggborough Stadium, as Wolves sealed the points with their only shot on target of the game!
The Story So Far...
After consecutive defeats to open their Premier League 2 account, our young Hammers have gone unbeaten in the league, a run stretching back to August. Since narrowly losing to Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, our U21s have recorded wins over Sunderland, Birmingham City and Aston Villa, alongside draws against Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal. They sit tenth in the 29-team league table, four points clear of the play-off cut-off point.
Form which has also translated to other competitions. Our young Hammers are in the running to qualify for the quarter-finals of the National League Cup with two games to play after a 2-0 victory over Woking and a penalty shootout win over Sutton United. In the Vertu Trophy, our U21s became the first development side to reach the knockout rounds in the 2025/26 edition following victories over League One outfit Reading and joint League Two leaders Swindon Town.
