BURTON Albion Youth Team travel to Villa Park tomorrow to take on Aston Villa in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
After knocking out Southampton in the last round thanks to a single Ben McLean goal, the scenes of celebration at St Mary’s proved just how much it meant to the young Albion players to get so far in such a prestigious youth cup competition.
Now Sam Rose's side travel to Villa Park (3pm KO) hoping that they can make it to the quarter-final stage of the competition.
We’re all really looking forward to the fixture,” said Professional Development Phase Lead Coach Rose.
“Not just for the players, but it’s also a great achievement for the staff and everyone involved in the football club that we’re in the fifth round.
“We’ve now beaten Worcester, Mansfield and Stoke in previous rounds, we won at the weekend, and we’re all confident going into the game.
“We feel that we have every chance of a successful outing at Villa Park and feel that it’s not the end of our journey in the competition.”
Academy Manager Dan Robinson says another chance of playing at a Premier League Stadium will once again provide memories of a lifetime for the young Albion players as they look to push on to the first-team.
“It’s amazing that these lads are going to get the chance to play at Villa Park, as it’s arguably one of the most iconic football stadiums in the country.
“They’ve done themselves proud for getting to where they are and we really hope it can continue.
“It’s brilliant that Burton Albion are now the only category three academy side left in the competition and shows how far we’ve come as a club and academy.”
In order to progress this far in the competition, Villa saw off Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 at Villa Park in the fourth round last month, as well being victorious with a 4-3 victory over Reading in December's third round at the Madejski Stadium.
The full 90 minutes will be shown live on Aston Villa’s very own VillaTV, as the Young Brewers face the Young Lions for the opportunity of a trip to Newcastle United in the next round awaiting the winners.
VillaTV will bring you live match coverage, audio commentary, replays and pre-match build-up, with the action getting underway at 2.45pm.
Fans can buy a match pass for £1.99, with all proceeds going to the Aston Villa Foundation.
To watch VillaTV, you will need a digital membership account, which is free and easy to set up if you don’t already have one. Click here to purchase the game over on the Aston Villa website.