The match against Everton is scheduled to kick-off at Kingsmeadow at 7pm.

Mark Robinson's men come into this game off the back of a three-game winning streak which has included impressive wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.

Our most recent game, which was against the young Reds, saw us recover from going a goal down early on, as we finished strong to secure the three points.

This season when we have gone a goal down, it has normally coincided with dropped points but the character shown to battle back and win the match is a testament to the development that the team has shown over the course of the season.

Robinson has spoken to us about this and went into detail about the improvements his team has made and the greater heights they can achieve individually and as a team.

He said: 'We are looking for what we have looked for all season which is continuous development. There are a lot of things the team do really well collectively and individually.

'There are also things they need to improve on individually and collectively so you want to see the honest reflection and desire to improve on those.

In response to being asked about how far his team have come since the beginning of the season, the Under-21s head coach wanted to first give praise to his boys.

'They have come a long way in understanding that despite being very good footballers, if you want to give yourself a great chance of winning football matches then you need to continuously carry out a large number actions on and off the ball,' he said.

'This only comes with certain behaviours on and off the pitch and they have worked hard to develop these in training. The goal for us as coaches is that we want to give them the best platform to go and succeed wherever they find themselves.'

The form shown this season has been rewarded in a number of ways as Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson have both featured for the men's first team. In addition to this, Hutchinson and Ben Elliott have been called up to the senior teams of their countries Jamaica and Cameroon respectively. Robinson had a message for both players on this impressive milestone for each.

He said, 'We are all proud they have got rewarded for their performances but the real pride is when they take their development into that environment and it shows in their performances. We are confident that they will show their talent and hard work as they continue to thrive.'

Including tonight's game, our young Blues have five fixtures left and the PL2 title is still very much attainable despite the two games in-hand Manchester City have. Chelsea lead the table by a point.

This match is also one of our Games for Equality being held this week.

Academy news

In other news, Somto Boniface has committed his future to the club by signing his first professional contract with us.

The young left-back, who has been a regular feature for our Under-18s side, has signed a deal which keeps him at the club until at least the summer of 2025.