Louie Lefevre shares the key fixtures and info on wolves academy season
Wolves U21s and U18s have now discovered their fixtures for the upcoming PL2 and U18 Premier League campaigns, with both getting underway later this month.
The U21s start their PL2 season on Monday 18th August with a visit to the Lancashire FA County Ground to take on Burnley. Their first home game is later that week on Friday 22nd when they take on Stoke City at Aggborough. They only play one league game in September, facing Arsenal away on Saturday 20th. Their first match against West Midlands opposition will be on Saturday 8th November at Bodymoor Heath when they take on Aston Villa. It’s a busy January for James Collins’ side with visits from Manchester United and Sunderland as well as two away trips to boot. In February, Wolves take on Premier League 2 newcomers Ipswich Town at the home of Kidderminster Harriers and face an away day against defending champions Manchester City shortly after. It will be a tough end to the season with matches against four of the top academies in the country in Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Tottenham. The Chelsea game will be the final home game of the season, pencilled in for Friday 20th March before concluding the season away at the Lamex stadium, home of Stevenage, against Tottenham on the 10th April. The top 16 will go into the play-offs whilst the teams who finish in 17th to 24th in a separate play-off against the top 8 teams from the Professional Development League, another U21 league featuring academies without category 1 status.
The U18s open their campaign on Saturday 16th August with a trip to Middlesbrough, before their first home game at Compton against Newcastle the following Saturday. They will face both Manchester teams in September, with Manchester City coming to Wolverhampton first before it’s Manchester United’s turn the week after. Wolves will face Manchester City in the reverse fixture in January, battling the runners-up from last season on their own turf. On Saturday 2nd May Wolves play their penultimate fixture, and final home game, against Burnley. They will end their season away on the 9th against Sunderland. Wolves are in the Northern section of the U18 Premier League. The team who finish top will face first place in the Southern section in the final.
Wolves U21s have one last pre-season test on Saturday in a Black Country derby and then attention turns to Wealdstone for the opening game of the National League Cup on the 12th August. Tickets are available on Wealdstone’s website for any London-based supporters or fans planning to make the trip. All tickets for the game are £5. Fixture dates and venues are subject to change, with these usually being announced on the Wolves academy X page. Season ticket holders can attend PL2 home games for free upon presenting their card, whilst individual tickets can be purchased for home games from Kidderminster’s website.
ARTICLE BY LOUIE LEFEVRE
I’m a student and a season ticket holder. I enjoy talking about the next generation of Wolves players and you can usually spot me on Match of the day behind the goal!