Albion’s Premier League Cup campaign begins on Friday night (ko 7pm) when they host Southampton.
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The PL2 team are competing in Group C this term, facing off against the Saints, Swansea City and Fleetwood Town, looking to gain enough points to progress to the knockout phases of the competition.
Venue
Friday night’s encounter will be the young Baggies’ first match at Solihull Moors’ ARMCO Arena.
The National League side’s stadium will be the main venue for the Under-21s fixtures this season.
Pre-match thoughts
Forward Eseosa Sule is hoping to get off the mark for 2024/25 in this week’s PL Cup clash.
The Glaswegian, who joined Albion in 2022 from Scottish champions Celtic, was among the leading scorers for the club’s scholarship group last term - netting nine times in the U18 Premier League.
Sule made his senior bow under Carlos Corberán last month - stepping off the bench during the 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Fleetwood Town.
But the 18-year-old is keen to combine his first-team experiences, hard work in training, and lessons learned under PL2 boss Richard Beale into scoring regularly at 21s level, with a first goal of the campaign in Friday’s match very much on the agenda.
He said: “Two heavy defeats at the start haven’t reflected how hard we’ve been working, but these things happen. Sometimes you work hard off the pitch but they don’t always click straight away on it.
“We all had a good pre-season, I had a good pre-season and, personally, I came into this season in the best shape I’ve been in.
“The Stoke game showed that, even though we had a few first-team players with us, we have it in us to be clinical.
“The Fleetwood match was such a surreal moment for me. That’s why I came to this club - because it’s known for producing good youth players.
"I was over the moon to be involved and there was a point where I thought I wasn’t going to get on, but I came on, my dad was there to see it too, and it was a nice moment for me.
“When I get the first goal, they usually keep coming after that, so I’m focused on getting the basics right in training, hitting the back of the net, and if I get my chance on Friday I know, because of how I’ve been working and how my mindset is at the moment, that I’ll put it away.
“It’s always good to start the competition with a win because it starts you off on a good tempo for the rest of the tournament. I feel we have a really good group of lads and everyone is hungry, and motivated to get some success in this cup."
How to follow
Match tickets will be available for Friday night’s Premier League Cup group game versus Southampton.
They are priced at £4 adults, and £2 for Under-17s and 65+, with supporters able to purchase tickets on the gate outside the Damson Homes Stand. Free parking at the stadium will be available on a first come, first served basis.
As usual, free entry for season ticket holders is not available for any of this year's PL Cup matches.
Alternatively, WBA TV+ subscribers will be able to watch a live stream of the game here from 6.20pm.
Supporters can keep up-to-date with Friday’s PL Cup match across the club’s social media channels, with half-time, full-time, and goal updates as they go in.
