The young Blues recently learned our first opponents of this season’s competition, entering at the third round proper, where we will face Category Two side Brentford.

Last season’s FA Youth Cup journey opened with a dramatic 3-2 comeback win away at Leicester City, followed by a dominant 7-1 victory over Merstham Town at Kingsmeadow. Our run came to an end in the fifth round against Manchester United.

This year’s campaign starts at Wheatsheaf Park, where we travel to Brentford on Tuesday 16 December for a 7pm kick-off, as we look to build on last season’s performances.

In other news, there has been a slight update to our Under-18 Premier League schedule. After facing West Ham United this Saturday at 11am, our Under-18s will now take on Ipswich Town - rather than Fulham - on Saturday 6 December, with kick-off at midday. A new date for the rearranged Fulham fixture will be confirmed in due course.

Both the West Ham and Ipswich matches will be available to stream live on the Chelsea Official App and website.