Manchester City U21s v West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Joie Stadium, Friday 22 August 2025, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s make their first away trip of the 2025/26 Premier League 2 campaign on Friday evening as they face defending champions Manchester City at Joie Stadium.
Having opened the league season on Monday night against Premier League International Cup holders Nottingham Forest, the challenges keep coming with a meeting against four-time PL2 winners City.
West Ham were beaten 1-0 by the Reds at Rush Green Stadium, despite enjoying 68 per cent possession, and coach Mark Robson will hope his team can turn dominance into goals in the North West.
Manchester City's U21s were also beaten in their opening PL2 fixture, 3-1 at Chelsea.
Tickets...
Hammers fans based in the North West or who fancy a trip to the game can watch the U21s in action at Joie Stadium by purchasing tickets HERE. Tickets are priced at £3 for Adults and £1 for Over-65s, U21s and U18s.
Travel...
The Etihad Campus is well connected to Manchester’s main train stations via tram, though not directly served by rail. The nearest station is Ashburys, just five minutes by train from Manchester Piccadilly. From there, the Joie Stadium is around a 20-minute walk.
Bus services also stop near the stadium, with the closest stop by the Asda superstore opposite the North Gate entrance.
A full travel guide is available on Manchester City’s website HERE.
How To Follow...
As the game coincides with the first team’s Premier League clash against Chelsea, there will be no live stream. However, supporters can follow a live blog, with a full match report and reaction published after the final whistle. Highlights will be available on Saturday.
Opposition…
One of the top Academies in England, defending champions Manchester City have won Premier League 2 a record four times.
Averaging over three goals per game in the league phase, they went on to defeat Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Southampton in the play-offs en route to their latest title.
With the U21s adopting the same playing system and style as the first team, plenty of players have been able to make the leap from the development squad to the first team. From the side that beat our U21s last October, during their ten-game winning streak in Premier League 2, Nico O’Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Jacob Wright all featured in the Manchester City first team during the 2024/25 campaign.
With a handful of their title-winning players promoted or out on loan, a refreshed U21s group is now tasked with defending their crown. Their new-look squad opened their account with a 3-1 defeat away to Chelsea thanks to a Sumatra Mheuka hat-trick.
Ones To Watch…
Still an U18s scholar, Airidas Golambeckis joined a select group of players, including Declan Rice, to have captained the development squad before turning 18.
An elegant ball-playing centre-back that is also very strong in the tackle, Golambeckis spent the summer with the first-team squad gaining experience during their pre-season trips to Austria and the United States.
Breaking into the U21s squad on a full time basis at the turn of the calendar year, he was also a key member of the U18s squad that lifted the Premier League Cup in April.
This season, he has captained the U21s in their first two fixtures, marshalling a defence which has only let in one goal in their opening 120 minutes of competitive football.
For Manchester City, former West Ham United Academy midfielder Divine Mukasa, who turns 18 on matchday, has really shone since his arrival from east London in 2023.
In his second season with the U18s, across a campaign which saw them win Premier League North and reach the FA Youth Cup final, Mukasa was directly involved in 38 goals in 26 appearances.
A technical, creative and physically imposing player, Mukasa is also experienced at youth level in international football, having represented England at the U16, U17 and U18 age groups.
Coming off the bench in the development team’s Premier League 2 play-off semi-final and final wins, Mukasa now looks set to establish himself at U21s level as he edges closer to Pep Guardiola's first team.
The Story So Far...
Our U21s, who have finished inside the top four in each of the past two seasons in the 26-team division (expanded to 29 this year with the addition of Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and Burnley) opened their account for the 2025/26 Premier League 2 campaign with a 1-0 defeat against the reigning Premier League International Cup champions, Nottingham Forest.
Prior to that, they picked up a 2-0 win in their National League Cup opener at Woking, courtesy of goals from Lewis Orford and Mohamadou Kanté.
