The Blues are currently on a run of seven back-to-back wins in the Under-18 Premier League, starting and finishing with victories against West Ham United, which have propelled us above the Hammers into top spot in the table.

A 4-3 win over West Ham at Cobham last week closed the three-point gap to the leaders, leaving us first on goal difference, with three games in hand over our closest challengers for the southern title and a spot in the play-off match to decide the national champions.

Next up we travel away to face West Bromwich Albion in a midday kick-off on Saturday 13 April, which will be shown live on the Official Chelsea App, and head coach Hassan Sulaiman knows there can be no drop-off in performance, despite a difficult schedule for our Academy.

'Our ambition remains the same,' explained Sulaiman. 'Every game we go into, we want to make sure we perform, and if we can perform well we can win. So we will perform to the best of our ability on Saturday.

'We do have a bit of a tricky run, because the Under-17 Premier League Cup final was on Thursday, the Under-21s play on Friday evening and then we play on Saturday.

'With the crossover between the teams, the players will be stretched, which I would say is a positive thing, because this is what you want from the youth development programme. You want the opportunity for players to be stretched.

'You want to see the players in these moments, because that is when you can tell a lot about their character. So our game on Saturday is even more important for that reason.

'The players have to step up, we have to perform and we have to back up every result. We have to back up our performance against West Ham with another strong performance against West Brom.'

It certainly seems like a difficult balancing act with three big matches across our Academy in as many days, particularly with a cup final for the Under-17s - also led by Sulaiman with a mixture of first-year scholars from the Under-18s and schoolboys from the Under-16s in the squad - and the Under-18s defending such a narrow lead at the top of the table.

However, it is experience which will serve the players well as they progress towards the senior game later in their careers, where the expectation to balance commitments in different competitions without a drop in performance is a given.

'That’s what this season has done for us, there’s no margin for error really. We want to make sure that we’re competing in every game. The biggest thing, of course, is the development side, and thinking about what this is helping the players develop for when they make it to first-team football, which is the ambition.

'So being in these competitions and having these types of games is brilliant for the boys. They’re developing their mental side, but they’re also developing their physical side, in terms of being able to endure going back-to-back with games and performing at high levels.

'This is only going to prepare them for what will hopefully be Premier League elite football in their future careers, so I think it is a brilliant period for the boys.'

Where to watch the live stream

You can watch our Under-18 Premier League fixture against West Bromwich Albion 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.