Preview | Sheffield United U21s v Swansea City U21s
Swansea City Under-21s travel to Yorkshire this evening for their Professional Development League play-off semi-final tie against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane (7pm).
The Swans secured a play-off place on the final day of the season with a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Swansea finished the season on 51 points, with 16 wins under their belt, scoring 72 goals.
Sheffield United, meanwhile, were crowned champions of the PDL North for the second year running.
The sides faced each other in a knockout clash in the Premier League Cup back in February. The Blades came out on top with a 5-1 victory to progress to the quarter-finals on that occasion, but the Swans will be looking to make amends and take that extra step to reach the final.
Pre-match views
Coach Anthony Wright: “We were so close last season, so to fulfil our objective of making the play-offs this time round is brilliant.
“Knockout stages are something we don’t get of enough in academy football, and the boys have stepped up when they needed to.
"We've come against Sheffield United already this season, and at Bramall Lane. They're one of the toughest teams in the league, winning the north league title two years in a row."
Previous meeting - August 29, 2023
Sheffield United 4 Swansea City 2
Swansea City Under-21s fell to defeat at Sheffield United as three first-half goals set the Blades on the way to victory in their last Professional Development League encounter in south Yorkshire.
Antwoine Hackford opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes, with Fernando Macedo grabbing a brace for the hosts.
Sam Parker pulled a goal back for the Swans after the break - netting for the second straight game - before Hackford added his second of the afternoon with 20 minutes to go.
Parker struck again for the visitors but it was too late to salvage a result for the Swans.
Swansea City Under-21s: Evan Watts, Sam Parker, Ben Blythe, Dan Watts, Harry Jones, Kai Ludvigsen, Liam Smith, Mitchell Bates, Kyrell Wilson, Maliq Cadogan, Kian Jenkins.
Substitutes: Josh Carey, Remy Mitchell, Zane Myers, Richard Faakye, Thomas Woodward.