Andy Myers’s first game in charge of the youth team will take place on the South Coast on the opening weekend of the 2018/19 campaign. The young Blues have been beaten on their previous two visits to the Saints so will be aiming to overcome a traditionally tricky early challenge in the season.

Myers’s men then host Leicester City at Cobham before back-to-back London derbies against Tottenham and Arsenal. The Under-18 Premier League is in the sixth season under the current format, which splits the 24 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 each of the past four seasons, with the national title also secured in 2017 and 2018.

The Under-18 Premier League Cup will also return for its second season this term and sees all 24 Category One teams compete, initially in a group stage format before knockout matches are played from the quarter-finals onwards. Groups are comprised of two northern and two southern teams, enabling sides to face opponents outside of their regional league programme. The draw will be made shortly and details announced on this website in due course.

The league fixture list in full is outlined below.