Town’s U21s will host Derby County in their first Premier League 2 match on Friday 15th August (KO 7pm).

After the game against the Rams, the Blues travel to Leeds United on Sunday 24th August (KO 1pm).

The following week, on Friday 29th August, John McGreal and Chris Casement’s side are at home to Southampton, again with a 7pm kick-off.

The venues for the Blues’ home matches are still to be confirmed with the U21s playing matches at Colchester’s JobServe Community Stadium as well as Playford Road and Portman Road in the season ahead. The full fixture list can be found here.

Town, whose academy moved from category two to category one over the summer, will be in Premier League 2 for the first time with Birmingham City and Burnley also having stepped up this year.

The competition sees the 29 clubs divided into six seeding pots of five, with one bye team, based on performances over the previous three seasons with a side’s 20 fixtures determined by a draw made according to clubs' positions in the six seeded pots.

Teams play each club in their own seeding pot once, as well as three or four teams from all other pots, either home or away.

The teams will be ranked in a single table with the top 16 teams qualifying for the elimination play-offs in which sides are drawn against one another based on league position in a round of 16 before quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.

The teams finishing in the top 16 are also invited to take part in the Premier League International Cup during the following season.

Those that finish 17th to 24th will play in another newly introduced play-off competition along with the top eight teams from Professional Development League Two, where the Blues were playing last season.

Photo: TWTD

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