Derby County Under-18s will be looking to make it five consecutive league wins in Premier League - North as they make the trip to face Middlesbrough on Saturday, kick-off 1pm.
The two sides meet each other for the second time inside a week after their Premier League Cup clash last weekend that ended in a narrow 1-0 extra-time victory for Middlesbrough.
However, the Rams will be full of confidence after a run of victories against Sunderland, Liverpool, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers that sees them just two points off top spot.
It has been a campaign of consistently impressive performances from Justin Walker’s side and the development of the squad has even seen some players gain a taste of first-team football with places in Frank Lampard’s matchday squads.
Despite last Saturday’s semi-final loss, Walker was delighted with his side’s display and emphasised the importance of his players continuing to work in the same way that they have been.
He said: “I suppose now we can put our full focus on the league but mainly our full attention will be on how well we keep playing. We have a great bunch of lads here.
“We need to make sure that we keep pushing them, so they get better each day.
“I will take that same performance every day, every week. I think that we can all be proud of that.”
With eight further league games left for the Rams to play this campaign, they remain in with a real chance of finishing top of Premier League - North and qualifying for the national Under-18s final.