FA YOUTH CUP PREVIEW: Cambridge United (A)

Derby County Under-18s will turn their attention to the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday night.

Bradley Johnson’s side will make the journey to Cambridge United in the Third Round of the prestigious youth competition.

The match will take place at Cambridge’s home stadium, the Cledara Abbey Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm.

The Season So Far

The Under-18s’ season has provided a mixture of ups and downs so far.

The Rams’ youngsters are 10th in the 14-team Under-18 Premier League - North table, winning four and drawing one of their 11 outings.

Their most notable victory was the last-gasp 5-4 success at Stoke City in November, coming back from 3-0 and 4-3 down to claim all three points, while their other league wins this term have come against Burnley, Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In the Premier League Cup, the Under-18s picked up a win at home to Burnley, a draw on the road at Reading and a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages, with the latter finishing in top spot and qualifying for the knockout stages.

Pre-Game Thoughts

Under-18 Lead Coach Bradley Johnson sat down with RamsTV to preview the FA Youth Cup Third Round tie.

First-year scholar and midfielder Charlie Smith also spoke to RamsTV to preview the cup clash and reflect on his own season so far.

The Opposition

Cambridge United’s youngsters have stormed through the opening rounds of this season’s FA Youth Cup.

They recorded back-to-back 4–0 victories, against Slough Town and then Tiverton Town, in the First and Second rounds respectively and currently sit top of the EFL Youth Alliance South, unbeaten through 11 games this season.

They have won 10 of their 11 matches in the league, with only Northampton Town the only side to deny them claiming maximum points.