Under-21s preview: Robinson wants response against Saints

Chelsea Under-21s will aim to secure the highest Premier League 2 finish possible on Friday evening as we host Southampton in a game that will be shown live on the Official Chelsea App.

The young Blues have already secured a place in the end-of-season play-offs and will be looking to secure a strong seeding position for the knockout draw.

Southampton are the visitors to Kingsmeadow in the final game of the regular league season. Kick-off is at 7pm and you can view the game live on the Official Chelsea App.

Mark Robinson's side currently sit fourth but are only ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool on goal difference – they face off against each other on Sunday.

Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Reading could also overhaul us if they win their final games and we suffered defeat. It means a positive result against a Southampton side still chasing a play-off spot is imperative.

As well as securing the best seeding position possible, victory would also help rebuild momentum ahead of last week's painful semi-final defeat to Fulham in the Premier League Cup.

'It’s really important we put in a good performance against Southampton,' said Robinson. 'I know we’ve already qualified and it’s going to be a must-win for them because they need to qualify.

'So we’ve got to show a response because you don’t want to go into the play-offs on the back of two disappointing performances. We will certainly be looking for that individually and collectively.'

Robinson believes opposition sides often produce their best when facing the Blues - as Fulham did last week - and our Under-21s head coach wants his players to show they can handle that challenge.

He said: 'One thing I’ve learned since I’ve had the job here, in nearly two years, is that we watch opposition’s games when we prepare and then we come up against them and they seem to run 20 per cent harder and talk 20 per cent more.

'We’ve obviously got a great reputation as an academy and tell the players – we call it the “Chelsea tax” – there’s always going to be extra from teams and you’ve got to match that and know the pressure the shirt carries and be able to cope with that.

'I’ve got to say, for most of the season they’ve shown signs of that, but on Friday that wasn’t the case and we were deservedly beaten.'

Where to watch the live stream

You can watch our Under-21s' Premier League 2 fixture against Crystal Palace 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.