Academy

Oxford United Under-21s take on Derby County in league opener

Monday 18 August

Oxford United Under-21s get their season underway tomorrow with a league clash against Derby County at the Oxford United Training Centre with a 2:00pm kick off.

The Club have introduced an official Under-21s age group this season. This comes after a number of friendlies last season, as they will now be entering a competitive league for the first time.

They have been entered into the Under-21s Central League and Under-21s Central Cup, which will be played alongside their unofficial league which they took part in last season.

An Under-21s side was trialled successfully last year, and despite the squad consisting of a majority of Under-18s, they went on to win seven out of their eleven matches. With it now becoming an official Under-21s side, there will be a much more structured approach, being led by head coach Pablo Haysham.

It is a great opportunity for boys to bridge the gap between Under-18s football and First Team football.

Oxford will be high on confidence following their dominating 5-1 win against QPR to wrap up their pre-season. Their other two pre-season games consisted of a 0-0 draw to Maidenhead United and a 2-1 defeat away to Bristol City.

United will start their league campaign with a difficult test, hosting category one side Derby County who will prove to be a strong opposition first up.

We asked captain Aidan Elliott-Wheeler about what this squad can achieve together. He said: "It’s a very young side, but we’re well up for it and know what we’re capable off and we think we’re going to have a right go at winning this league."

The U21 2025/26 fixtures are as follows:

U21 Central League