Crystal Palace are one of the four teams still unbeaten in the league this season and they will be looking to continue their run against Mark Robinson’s men. Nonetheless, the confidence that our young Blues have been playing with as of recent will give them the push they will need as they try to take down their foes from south London.

Making your mark

A player who has been full of confidence this season is Leo Castledine and that has been on full show following his first start at U-21 level in the 2-0 victory away at Everton.

The young midfielder, who can also play as a forward, has been a regular feature for some of the younger age groups, but Robinson has been full of praise for the youngster who continues to impress on and off the pitch.

He said ‘I am massive on behaviour and that is behaviour on and off the pitch and I am big on the players’ attitude when they are chosen to play and when they are not.’

He continued ‘I expect the boys that may not currently be in the line-up or squad to be watching and mentally thinking about how they can impact the game.

‘Leo does this and he asks questions which I like and his form does not surprise me as he puts in the necessary work to warrant being selected.’

Culture shaping

In the presence of his coach, Leo said ‘I think as a group we all buy into the collective culture that is being built. I am proud to have made my first start at this level and I want to continue to do the things that have allowed me to get to this moment. Of course, at this level we are focused on developing every day but we still want to win and I am happy that I am doing the right things which are getting me recognised by the coaches.’

In relation to Saturday’s game when asked how they would prepare for a team as in-form as the young Eagles, both Castledine and Robinson were in agreement that the focus should be on ‘our’ team.

Leo said, ‘We prepare the same for every team that we come up against, we are focused on what we can do to hurt the opponents and I just focus on getting my mind right and taking on board the instructions that are passed onto me by the coaches.’

Robinson echoed these thoughts: ‘Our application and approach to each game does not change, if I am honest, we want a minimum of 80 per cent to be focused on us and the rest on the opponents that we face. A majority of the group play in different competitions across the whole season but the important thing is that when they play for this age group they understand the identity and the structure in place.’

Last time out

You have to go back to Saturday 3 September for our last fixture in the PL2 but it was an impressive showing from our young Blues as we beat Everton 2-0.

It was a game for new additions to the squad to get on the scoresheet. Besides Leo Castledine making his first start in this competition, Mason Burstow opened the scoring with his first goal for the youth team. Cesare Casadei doubled the lead soon after with his first goal for the youth team too.

We currently sit in 6th place on seven points and a win could see us take a big jump in the standings.

Academy news

In other Academy news, Lewis Hall has signed his first professional contract with Chelsea, committing the 17-year-old forward to the club until at least 2025.

The young midfielder has played a number of games for different age groups across the Academy. He has also made his senior team debut as he was used as a left-back from the start against Chesterfield in the FA Cup last season.

Our Under-18s are also in action on Saturday, at home to Norwich in a game that kicks off at 11am and will be live streamed on our website and app.