Under-18s live stream preview: Big game but business as usual

The fight at the top of the Under-18 Premier League southern table is finely balanced going into this weekend, before the top two sides meet at Cobham at 11am on Saturday 6 April. That match between Chelsea and West Ham United will be streamed live on the Official Chelsea App.

The Blues currently sit three points behind the table-topping Hammers, but with a better goal difference and three games in hand. That means a home win on Saturday would guarantee us first place at this stage, putting us in prime position to claim the southern title and a place in the one-off play-off match against the northern winners to decide the national champions.

However, Under-18s head coach Hassan Sulaiman is eager to keep his players focused on the task at hand of putting in a performance on the pitch, knowing they need to ignore the potential distraction of what the result could mean for the title race and any pressure that brings.

‘It’s not a decider, we haven’t built the game up to be something bigger than it is,’ explained Sulaiman. ‘There are still very much development aspects we’re looking at, around being able to deal with pressure.

‘Of course, you can’t deny the fact that if we win the game the boys know they will go top. There’s a lot to play for and we all know that if we can win our league, we go into the national final as well.

‘That is the obvious spectacle of the game itself from the outside, but for us it is business as usual.’

For Sulaiman, that means just doing the same things which have served his team well in recent weeks. Having built up momentum in a run of four consecutive victories before the international break, all secured with a clean sheet, he is hoping they can pick up right where they left off, regardless of the opponent.

‘As I’ve said many times before, we approach every game the same way. The boys have consistently demonstrated a desire to play well, but what that looks like for us is being able to defend our box, which they’ve done in the last few games.

‘You can see the amount of clean sheets we’ve had, which is really important and a testament to them using the practice we've had in training when approaching defensive situations. But more importantly it shows a mentality to not allow the opposition to score goals.

‘In addition to that, we’ve spoken about how we approach the game in possession. We want to dominate possession, we want to make sure we have an impact in the final third and score goals. The boys have been able to do that and hopefully this game will be no different.

‘In this game we will have the same ideology, in terms of how we want to approach the game, and we know if we can do that on the day we will always achieve a favourable result. That’s our mentality.’

That reflects the fact the destination of the southern title is not going to be decided this weekend, whatever the result. This is the first of eight league games in a row for the Blues to finish the season for our Under-18s, and Sulaiman is eyeing a strong end to the campaign across the board.

‘We have lots to play for, so it’s an exciting part of the season,' he added. 'It’s what a lot of people refer to as the business end of the season and we are definitely still in business.

‘In the league we need to make sure we’re chasing and competing to the end. We’ve also got the Under-17 Premier League Cup final next week and a number of the boys will be involved in that again.

‘Even coupled with that, we’ve got a few players who will arguably be up for international selection to go to the European Under-17 Championship – players like Ollie Harrison and Shumaira Mhueka for England, and Genesis Antwi for Sweden.

‘So there’s still lots to play for, which we’re all excited about, and that’s what you want from our programme. We’re in a pleasing place, we just need to keep building and our aim is to finish strong.’

Where to watch the live stream

You can watch our Under-18 Premier League fixture against West Ham United live on the Official Chelsea App, complete with enhanced stats and event tracking from MVX, built by Infinite Athlete. It will be available globally and priced at £1.99.