U21s preview: Birmingham City v Arsenal

Our under-21s will be looking to build on an impressive 2-1 win over Leyton Orient as we return to Premier League 2 action against Birmingham City on Friday afternoon (1pm UK).

David Horseman's side came from behind to beat League One Orient in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, marking their first win of the season in style.

We'll now be looking to take that momentum into our league form, as we bid for our first PL2 win of 2026/27.

THE OPPOSITION

Birmingham City have been Premier League 2's entertainers so far this season, with five goals scored and seven conceded across their opening two fixtures.

City's opening game against Spurs proved to be a seesaw draw, in which Friday's opponents led 1-0 and 2-1 before scoring a late equaliser to draw 3-3.

It was a tougher first half for Birmingham a week later against Norwich, who raced into a 4-0 lead, before the Blues netted a couple of second-half goals to halve the deficit.

Zimbabwe international striker Menzi Mazwi, who has a senior cap for his country, has been the highlight of the campaign so far for Birmingham, netting three goals across City's first two PL2 games.

HOW TO WATCH

Supporters can tune into live coverage of the match on The Arsenal app and on Arsenal.com from 12.55pm (UK) on Friday afternoon, with live commentary available throughout. Updates will also be available on our Academy X account .

Post-match, don't miss highlights of all the key action from the contest.