West Ham United U21s v Liverpool U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 7 November 2025, 7pm GMT
West Ham United U21s have the chance to extend their Premier League 2 unbeaten run to seven games when they host Liverpool at Rush Green Stadium on Friday night.
Since their last league defeat in August, our young Hammers have hit their stride with wins over Sunderland, Birmingham City and Aston Villa, alongside draws against Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal and most recently, Wolverhampton Wanderers. They sit eleventh in the 29-team league table, two 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...
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 - 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.
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…
At this stage last season, Liverpool U21s had already won six league games and looked firmly on course to securing a comfortable play-off spot.
However, one win in their next eleven saw them take their qualification to the Premier League 2 knockout stages to the final game, in a winner-takes-the-final-play-off-spot game against Leeds United. Despite going behind, Liverpool battled to a point which secured them a round of 16 meeting against eventual champions Manchester City.
The young Citizens scraped through in extra-time despite trailing, thanks to a brace from West Ham Academy graduate Divin Mubama. Liverpool had also suffered the same fate the season before, knocked out by eventual champions Tottenham Hotspur on penalties at the quarter-final stage.
With last season’s standout players, including Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni and even captain and former West Ham Academy defender Amara Nallo, being frequently called up to the first-team squad, the young Reds have been struggling for consistency in the league and cup competitions during 2025/26.
However, their last two games have seen them score eight goals and move within a point of the Premier League 2 play-off places. A victory on Friday evening would see them leapfrog our young Hammers in the table.
Previous Meeting...
Our U21s were held to a 1-1 draw the last time the two sides faced each other, earlier this year at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre, which brought to an end an incredible run of seven consecutive league wins for our young Hammers.
Two rather bizarre own-goals cancelled each other out in a closely-contested match on Merseyside in March 2025.
Liverpool defender, and current Wigan Athletic loanee, Isaac Mabaya’s backpass found its way past the goalkeeper and into an unguarded net. But in the last action of the game, a Liverpool free-kick was crossed into the box and inadvertently headed into his own net by Lewis Orford, ensuring a share of the spoils.
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, Arsenal and Wolves. They sit eleventh in the 29-team league table, two points clear of the play-off cut-off point.
Our strong league form has also translated to other competitions. The 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.
