Zeeco Stadium

Posh U21s welcome Tottenham Hotspur U21s to the Zeeco Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Peterborough United U21s are back in Premier League Cup action on Sunday afternoon (1pm) as they face Tottenham Hotspur U21s at the Zeeco Stadium, the home of Stamford AFC, in the third game of the group phase.

The under 21s were beaten by Bristol City and Category One academy side Sunderland in their opening two games of the group stage, falling to a late defeat in their previous game against The Black Cats last month.

Posh, however, entered the game on Sunday afternoon on the back of an emphatic 6-0 victory over Hull City U21s on Tuesday evening in the Professional Development, accumulating seven points in their last four fixtures in the league.

U21s Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Ryan Semple was delighted with the performance against The Tigers during the week and, most importantly, securing their first clean sheet of the season.

“We were very pleased with many aspects of the performance. The energy, the intensity to get at them, to put pressure on them high up the pitch and allowed us to regain the ball higher up the pitch, which created problems and chances for ourselves, so that was fantastic. 

“We were ruthless on the day to score six goals, but, more importantly, it was the first time this season we have kept a clean sheet, which was fantastic for all the players - not just for the goalkeeper and the backline.”

Alongside beating The Tigers, the under 21s have also secured victory over Burnley and picked up a point at Crewe in the last few games, but Semple knows the visit from Spurs on Sunday will pose a difficult test on Sunday afternoon.

“There have been some good performances as of late and, with some of them, we have managed to pick up points - beating Burnley and drawing to Crewe Alexandra. Also, while we could have done better with the final goal, I feel it was frustrating and disappointing but also unlucky to lose against Sheffield United. 

“We felt that performance against Hull was coming and I think the players felt the same. It’s going to be a really difficult game on Sunday but we are, as ever, looking forward to it and trying to exploit the areas that we feel we can target.

“They have got some excellent players and like to play in a real expansive way. They will cause problems, but we hope we can do the same to them and cause them problems and when we get our chances, we need to make sure we can take them. We will need to be good without the ball, just like we were on Tuesday and at times more this weekend.”

The Spurs youngsters have been in tremendous form so far this season, currently top of the Premier League 2 and have won eight out of eight games in that competition, while also winning their opening two games of the Premier League Cup group stage.

Supporters can attend the game at the Zeeco Stadium by paying on the gate, with tickets priced at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions (card only).