Derby County’s Under-18s travel to the Academy of Light as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the season to three games when they face Sunderland this afternoon (kick-off 1pm).
Off the back of an impressive 3-1 away victory against Everton last weekend, the Rams are on the road again as a trip to the north east awaits Justin Walker and Rory Delap’s side in Premier League – North.
Last time out, a goal in either half from Connor Dixon and a goal inbetween from Jayden Bogle saw the Rams deservedly cruise to victory against the Toffees at USM Finch Farm.
The win over Everton was the Under-18s' first of the 2017/18 campaign and saw them extend their unbeaten run to two matches after they had fought back to earn a 1-1 draw against Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool on the opening day of the season at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby.
Thanks to positive start, Derby sit in third position within the Premier League – North table – behind only Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion.
The Rams’ opponents, on the other hand, currently reside in seventh place and are still searching for their first win following a 1-1 draw with local rivals Newcastle United on the opening day of the season.
Ahead of the game, Under-18s forward Morgan Whittaker spoke exclusively to dcfc.co.uk to offer his thoughts on the upcoming challenge.
He said: “We’ve spokem about Sunderland a lot and how they like to play. Obviously, they are going to be very strong but I think, like all the games, if we stick to our plan then our quality will show, especially in the final third.
“Last season for us was a very positive one and I think that if we can build on that this year then it has the potential to be a successful one.
“In the results that we’ve achieved so far, we’ve shown already that we’ve worked on some of the things that didn’t quite go to plan last year.”
Click here to read Morgan Whittaker’s full pre-match interview.
