U18s preview: Norwich City v Arsenal

Our under-18s will be aiming to return to winning ways as we travel to Norwich City for the final round of group fixtures in the Premier League Cup on Saturday, November 22. Kick-off at the Avant Training Centre is scheduled for 12pm (UK time).

We made a strong start to the competition with a convincing 4-0 victory over Peterborough United, but a heavy defeat to Stoke City in our second outing has left qualification for the knockout stages finely balanced.

Group Permutations

It’s an exceptionally tight group: all four teams are locked on three points, each with one win and one defeat from their opening two matches. Three sides, ourselves, Peterborough and Norwich, even share the same goal difference, leaving goals scored as the only separator. In that category, we currently hold the advantage, placing us second, ahead of both Peterborough and Norwich, while Stoke sits top thanks to a stronger goal difference.

Only the group winners progress to the quarter-finals, meaning we must win and hope Stoke either draws or loses against Peterborough. If Peterborough were to beat Stoke, they could still overtake us, but only if their margin of victory exceeds ours and they surpass us on goal difference.

The Opposition

Norwich City currently sit bottom of the group with a goal difference of -4. They opened their campaign impressively with a 2-0 win over Stoke, but fell to a 4-1 defeat against Peterborough in their second game, despite taking an early lead.

In league action, their form has been mixed, with two draws, a defeat and a win in their last four. Overall, it's been a tough season for the Canaries, who sit 14th out of 15 in the Under-18 Premier League South, registering just one league victory. However, they picked up a commendable point away at Chelsea last time out.

This will be our second meeting with Norwich this season after facing them earlier in the league campaign. We came out on top on that occasion thanks to late goals from Ceadach O’Neill and Maalik Hashi.

How to Follow

Kick-off is at 12pm (UK time). Live updates will be available on our , with a full match report on shortly after the final whistle.

Post-match, fans can catch interviews with Adam Birchall and one of our young Gunners, alongside highlights of all the key action.