Albion Under-21s host Swansea City in their next Premier League Cup match on Thursday evening (ko 7pm).
It will be the young Baggies’ second match in Group C, and they will be looking to continue their unbeaten start in the competition.
Last time out
Souleyman Mandey’s spectacular strike helped secure a point against Southampton during the last PL Cup clash.
Cole Deeming had given Richard Beale’s team the lead on the night, but two goals from the visitors meant Albion were trailing heading into the closing stages - with Mandey’s intervention proving crucial to claiming a share of the spoils late on in the tie.
Equalising in 𝓼𝓽𝔂𝓵𝓮. 😮💨
Tune into the full highlights from our youngsters' #PLCup draw with Southampton here! 👇— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) September 14, 2024
Venue
Once again, the club’s academy hopefuls will be playing under the Hawthorns lights on Thursday night.
It will be their second consecutive home match at the Baggies’ first team stadium following their previous Premier League 2 encounter with the Saints - which ended 1-1 in B71.
Pre-match thoughts
Defender Deago Nelson wants to see Albion dictate proceedings when they welcome their South Wales opponents to The Hawthorns.
The flying full-back has featured in all of the 21s’ matches across the PL2, PL Cup and National League Cup competitions this term, showing his versatility down the right side as a defender and a winger.
More importantly for Deago, though, and for many of his academy team-mates, the 18-year-old made his senior bow for the Baggies earlier in the campaign - stepping off the bench against Fleetwood Town during the Carabao Cup defeat in August.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, in addition to bringing on his game in the PL2 team, has meant a lot to Nelson during the early knockings of the campaign, but as far as the 21s are concerned, recording a first PL Cup group win is the next target for the squad.
The chance to do so comes at a venue which makes the right-sided defender “hungry for more” experiences in the Baggies first team, and Deago says he’s going to do everything he can to win “the battle” in B71 against the Swans.
He said: “The start of the season was more of a wake-up call to how competitive the league was going to be this year.
“We took it as a good lesson, moved forward, worked hard in training and got rid of what we did wrong to put us in a good place. We’ve shown character, personality, we nicked a win at Chelsea and that was a big turning point.
“I feel the experience I got playing in the 21s last season helped me massively. Instead of surviving at this age group, last year has helped me push on and exceed past a level now.
“Even though I was at left-back a lot then, now I’m at right-back and I’ve drifted between playing there and as a winger. It’s helped me understand the game more so now, when I’m in my favoured spot, I can perform at my best level.
“Making my debut was an amazing feeling. I didn’t even know I was in the squad until the day before in training when he (Carlos Corberán) said, ‘this is the squad to travel to the game’, and I was in it and my face just lit up.
"I was so happy and the next day, I didn’t even think I would come on. I thought I was making up the numbers but when I saw there was five minutes to go, and he told me to go and warm up, my face lit up again.
“We’re in the PL Cup for the next game, and we know it is competitive in its own way.
“There’s different teams, styles, and I’d say it’s more of a mental challenge in this competition because you might play well against a Category One team one week, but then you could play a PDL side and not get a good result.
“So it’s about getting our heads and mindsets right to go and get a good result on Thursday. We want to dominate the game and win it. If we get three points, it’ll put us in a good position to achieve our first aim in the competition, which is to qualify from the group.
“Walking into The Hawthorns is always inspiring. You want to go out on the pitch and make sure that’s the stage you get to in the future.
“When you play in the academy, you aspire to be in the first team so playing at The Hawthorns is a little taste of that and it only makes you hungry for more.
“Not being the tallest on the pitch has been a challenge, but that’s also made me grow smarter as a player and be more hard-working because I never wanted it to be a factor in why I didn’t make it to where I wanted to get to.
“I want to make it to the top and if I’m going to get there, I have to look past it to show people my capability and potential.
"It’s never been an issue. I’ve always been determined and I’ve always had that fight in me so no matter how big you are, if you’re playing on my side, I’m going to do everything I can to win the battle.”
How to follow
Match tickets will be available for Thursday night’s Premier League Cup group game versus Swansea.
They are priced at £4 adults, and £2 for Under-17s and 65+, with supporters able to purchase tickets on the gate on the Halfords Lane side of the stadium.
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 6.50pm. To view the stream, fans will need a MyAlbion account, which can be created here.
Supporters can keep up-to-date with Thursday’s PL Cup match across the club’s social media channels, with half-time, full-time, and goal updates as they go in.
