Our Under-18s' last match ended in bitter disappointment, as our FA Youth Cup campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals with a penalty shootout defeat, following a 1-1 draw away at Millwall. That 140-minutes-plus of exhausting cup tie no doubt left the Blues feeling drained.

However, our Under-18 Premier League campaign is hitting a crucial phase, after we closed the gap to the top of the table to three points, with several games in hand, thanks to back-to-back wins over title rivals West Ham and Tottenham.

That means head coach Hassan Sulaiman knows his team need to recover quickly from that blow, physically and mentally, in time for today's match against Aston Villa, which kicks off at midday and will be live on the Official Chelsea App.

'We have to respond immediately,' said Sulaiman. 'Part of my job as a coach is I have to pick them up.

'As much as we want to reflect on the FA Youth Cup game, because a number of players will be disappointed, over the last 24 to 48 hours we’ve had to pick them up, because we have to continue our quest to try and achieve our targets for the league.

'So we have to push on, but that’s football. Sometimes the next game needs to come sooner rather than later and on this occasion we’ve got the opportunity that it’s sooner.

'It’s going to be a tough game, we want to continue our good form in the league, so we have to bounce back as quickly as possible.'

With both our Under-18s' cup runs ending at the quarter-final stage, the team are now left clear to focus on our Premier League campaign and the title race.

Sulaiman believes the painful lessons learned from those knockout exits, combined with the desire to lift the final piece of silverware available to us this season, could give the players an extra push for the remainder of the campaign.

'In the debrief at the end of the Millwall game, one thing I told the boys was to look around and listen to the crowd, listen to the roars, listen to the opposition, because when you do it’s a healthy reminder of where you don’t want to be next time.

'I’m definitely hoping the two disappointments in the cups are going to serve as a motivation for the boys to really push our desire to do well in the league.

'We have to use those disappointments as a blessing in disguise and hopefully we can build on our positive form in the league.'

Where to watch the live stream

You can watch our Under-18 Premier League fixture against Aston Villa live on the Official Chelsea App, complete with enhanced stats and event tracking from MVX, built by Infinite Athlete. It will be available globally and priced at £1.99.