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…
After finishing rock bottom of Premier League 2 last season, the promotion of the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup double-winning squad this campaign has seen Aston Villa make a much more positive start to 2025/26.
By the end of September, the young Villans had already recorded more league wins than during the entirety of last season - a record which sees them sit in 13th place, three points within the play-off cut-off point.
Their best finish since the introduction of the new Premier League 2 format in 2023/24 saw them claim the final play-off spot. Against top seeded Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16, Villa took the tie to extra time, but with ten men fell to a 4-3 defeat against the eventual champions.
The last time they faced our young Hammers in this competition was way back in 2019, when a side captained by Winston Reid, featuring a second-year pro Ben Johnson, put Villa to the sword with a 4-0 win at Dagenham’s Victoria Road.