3/1 To Win
Derby County’s UEFA Youth League Round One opponents will be confirmed on Tuesday 3rd September in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Rams qualified for the competition as a result of an incredible 2018/19 campaign for the Under-18s, as they won the Premier League title with a 5-2 win against Arsenal in the National Final back in May.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the draw…
How does the draw work?
The competition is split into two sections, the first of which is the UEFA Champions League path.
All 32 clubs that qualified for the Champions League group stage will have a youth team that will take part in the Youth League, with the groups mirroring the Champions League draw.
For example, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Club Brugge and Galatasaray make up Champions League Group A, and the youth teams of those clubs will make up Youth League Group A.
We don’t have to worry about that side of the draw, though.
Derby will enter the competition via the Domestic Champions path.
This draw includes the domestic youth champions of the 32 best-ranked associations from UEFA’s coefficient rankings.
These 32 teams will compete in two rounds of home and away knock-out ties, before entering a play-off round which will include the second-placed teams from the group stage.
Who could we face?
Here are the sides that Derby could come up against in Round One:
Midtjylland (Denmark), Elfsborg (Sweden), FC Minsk (Belarus), Sogndal (Norway), IA Akranes (Iceland), Honka (Finland), Levadia Tallinn (Estonia).
Who can play?
Any player born on or after the 1st January 2001 is eligible to feature in the competition.
These are the players that are available for selection:
Goalkeepers: Bradley Foster-Theniger, Sam French, Harry Halwax, Alfie Roberts
Defenders: Max Bardell, Lee Buchanan, Eiran Cashin, Jaden Charles, Kornell McDonald, Will Grewal-Pollard, Hugo Jinkinson, Charlie Rutt, Harrison Solomon.
Midfielders: Osazee Aghatise, Yoann Greco, Jason Knight, Alex Matthews, Andres Perez de Gracia, Jack Rogers, Louie Sibley, Seb Thompson, Liam Thompson.
Forwards: Archie Brown, Bartosz Cybulski, Festy Ebosele, Eno Nto, Javaun Splatt, Jack Stretton, Tyree Wilson, Morgan Whittaker.
Additionally, up to five players born on or after 1 January 2000 may be included on the squad list of 40 players, provided the player has been eligible to play for the club concerned without interruption for the two years immediately preceding 17 September 2019, or has been eligible to play for the club concerned for two of the three years immediately preceding 17 September 2019 and registered with a maximum of one other club from the same association for an uninterrupted period of up to one year for the other one.
This means that the likes of Callum Minkley, Max Bird and Connor Dixon - all part of Justin Walker’s title-winning side last season - could feature.
When will our campaign begin?
Keep an eye on dcfc.co.uk and our social media channels for the draw, which will take place on Tuesday 3rd September at 2pm in Nyon, Switzerland.
The first leg of Derby’s Round One tie will be played on Wednesday 2nd October, with the return leg on Wednesday 23rd October.
