Young Lions prepare for Youth Cup fifth round

Aston Villa will look to book their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday evening, when facing off against Bristol City.

The Young Lions host the Robins at Bodymoor Heath, with action in round five set to get underway at 7pm.

For Villa, it’s an opportunity to make the last eight of the competition on their quest to lift the trophy for a fifth time, having last won it in 2021.

Under-18s Coach Pete Saunders admits the FA Youth Cup presents both the players and staff with a unique opportunity, and they hope to continue building on a successful campaign thus far.

He said: “It’s really exciting. Any cup competition gives the boys a different challenge, and the same with the staff. 

“The results have been very good for us. Performance wise, we’ve still been looking to tweak and improve on bits and pieces.

“The way that we work across our unit model, all three of us (coaches), can still see areas where we need to develop and improve.

“We do that consistently across the week, and we’ll take that into the next performance as well.”

With Villa competing in various competitions across all sides and age groups this season, Saunders discussed the opportunity which lies ahead at present, and what an exciting period for the club this represents.

Despite coming up against a different challenge, the academy staff task the players with demonstrating tactical defiance, showing a consistency in their performance and principles, irrespective of who the opposition might be.

“What a time to be a part of Aston Villa Football Club,” he added.

“From first team, all the way through, there’s opportunities to play in different competitions – some at the highest level, and a mixture of competitions here where you face different opposition.

“As you’ve seen from the first team, the consistency in our performances is what’s most important.

“Regardless of who we face, we have a style of play and a philosophy that we always want to stick to. It’s really important that we perform to our standards.

“Our working week doesn’t change. There are some minor tweaks, dependent on what we think the opposition might throw at us.

“But we’ll go back, we’ll reflect after the performance – regardless of result – and look at how we can be consistent in our methods.

“Having a different opposition just does present a different challenge, in finding a way to be consistent with what we do, but we’re definitely looking forward to it and it does provide something different, and a different stimulus for all of us.

“All the time, we’re just striving to be as good as we can, and perform to our standards and our level.  

“It’s a great time to be a part of the club at this moment, and we’re looking forward to it.”