Andy Myers's development squad get started against the Hammers at their new home in Kingston on Monday 14 September, kick-off 1pm, before a trip to Southampton four days later.

Before then, the young Blues head to Oxford United tomorrow night (Tuesday 8 September) for the opening group game in the EFL Trophy.

There are also visits to Brighton, Liverpool and Everton before Christmas, while Arsenal, Derby County and Leicester City will visit Kingsmeadow before Halloween.

The fixture list is outlined below in full.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Under-18s open their new season on the South Coast with a trip to Brighton. The Seagulls were our most recent opponents in the southern section of the league before Academy competitions were curtailed, a 4-0 win at Cobham with goals from Myles Peart-Harris (2), Marcel Lewis and Dion Rankine proving the final piece of league action for Ed Brand's boys.

A London derby follows for the young Blues as West Ham will be the first visitors to Cobham - as they were last season - before we play host to Southampton on the last weekend of September.

The Under-18 Premier League is in the seventh season under the current format, which splits Category One academies regionally into northern and southern leagues.

Teams play each other twice, both at home and away, before the regional winners compete in an end-of-season play-off to determine the national champion. Our youngsters have been crowned winners of the southern section in four of the past six seasons, with the national title also secured in 2017 and 2018.

Crystal Palace are new entrants to the league this term after gaining Category One status, as are Leeds United and Burnley in the northern section.

The Under-18 Premier League Cup will not be running this season. However, our youngsters will be involved in the UEFA Youth League, mirroring the first team's group stage campaign, and the FA Youth Cup.

The league fixture list in full is outlined below.