Albion Under-21s have their sights set on the Premier League 2 points as they make the trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon (ko 2pm).
The young Baggies are yet to win in 2026 but have all intentions of finishing the season as strongly as possible, with nine games left to play in the 25/26 campaign.
Leigh Downing’s outfit are currently bottom of the division and level on points with 28th-placed Derby County, but remain at the foot on goal difference.
Last time out
Albion suffered a heavy defeat against Manchester United in their last match.
Midfielder Souleyman Mandey continued his goalscoring form with a ninth goal of the campaign, but United’s quality eventually told as they replied with five strikes.
Venue
Loughborough University Stadium will be the young Baggies’ next destination when they travel to the East Midlands this weekend.
Forest’s youngsters have only won once at their home base this season, when they triumphed over Sunderland at the 3,500-capacity stadium.
Pre-match thoughts
Ryan Colesby has his under-18s experience to thank for his upwards trajectory this season.
The youngster, who hails from Solihull, switched Black Country allegiances when he joined from Wolves in January 2025 and has since demonstrated an undoubted ability to control the pace of matches in the Baggies’ development matches this term.
While continuing his development with the U21s, Colesby is still enjoying his football with Chay Thompson’s 18s team despite their FA Youth Cup defeat last week – where the 17-year-old played 120 minutes before coming on during their PL2 encounter with Manchester United the following Monday.
The central midfielder believes being “robust” can help him progress in the footballing world, as he aims for a professional deal and consistent minutes with Downing’s group in the future.
He said: “The FA Youth Cup was a great experience, despite the result. Those nights are always big games for us as under-18 players.
“It was a disappointing result for us, but I think we’ve got a strong 18s group this year. We felt we could’ve gone further in the tournament so it was a shame to see us go out as early as we did.
“There’s still positives to take from the games and we’ll use them for future performances.
“Playing those two games, one being 120-minutes long, is getting me used to the demands of football. Being robust is where I want to get to and I want to play week in, week out.
“It was a great challenge over the last week to keep getting minutes in the legs and it’ll only help me move forward as a player.
“Man United were always going to be a difficult team to play, at any age group. They always pose threats and there were still positives from that game on Monday, such as breaking them down to score early.
“It’s always nice to get involvement in the Under-21s and I want to impact games as much as possible, become a regular in the team and make an impact when I can.
“I worked with Leigh last season, so we’ve already got a good relationship. He knows what I’m like as a player, knows the ability that I’ve got and, hopefully, I can be useful for him.
“The ambition is to gain a regular spot in the team towards the back end of the season and heading into next season. I want to be affecting games and getting as many minutes as possible.”
How to follow
There will be no social updates for Saturday's PL2 game owing to a time clash with Albion's first-team fixture.
Reaction to Saturday’s game will be available on the website afterwards.
