Norwich City Under-18s make the journey to Cobham Training Ground on Saturday (12pm KO) to face Chelsea, who are 3rd in U18 Premier League South.
Three points would be big for the Canaries, who currently sit 12th in the table, although it’s definitely a test against Chelsea, who are undefeated in their last seven league games.
The Blues have done well to keep their undefeated run going, most recently beating 7th place Leicester 4-1. They currently sit on the same points as Fulham and Brighton, with just goal difference separating the sides for that top spot in the table. Chelsea also boast the second-best defensive record in the league, conceding just seven goals.
The teams last met in March of the 2018-19 season, ending in a 0-0 draw. The Canaries should be looking to replicate that and take a point against the London side, as only Brighton are the only team to draw with Chelsea, denying the side a flawless win record this season.
Despite being 3rd, the home side aren’t exactly keen goalscorers, finding the back of the net 15 times in their seven games. This is still an impressive stat, but makes them a fairly average 5th in terms of goals scored.
U18s right-back and young prospect Ethen Vaughan (pictured) is confident in the side's ability to tarnish Chelsea’s undefeated record, saying that the preparation has been right in every way to deliver the Blues first loss of the season.
“I’m feeling confident to be fair. I think it’s going to be a good game, we’ve prepared well throughout the week and we should perform well. The boys are looking positive so I don’t see why not. We're looking good.
“I think we’ve got it tomorrow, the team is ready to go. I reckon its going to be a 2-0 win to Norwich, we’re raring to go, so yeah it’s looking good tomorrow.”
Speaking on the 5-0 loss to Southampton, Vaughan spoke of how the team recover from a defeat like that and move forward to the next game.
“As a development squad we just try to put things behind us, for example, the obvious Southampton game which we lost 5-0. We’ve just tried to put it behind us, the lads have stayed positive all week, on and off the pitch. Now I think we just need to look to the next game, Chelsea.”
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