Chelsea vs. FC Basel, UEFA Youth League: Open Thread / Pre-match buildup for tonight

Here we go then, a brand new continental youth competition although it's essentially just replacing last year's NextGen Series. The age limit is under-19, the format mirrors the senior Champions League at least through the group stages, and the time is a rather inconvenient 1pm on a London midweek midday.

Oh well.

I'm not actually awake - scheduled posting magic, beybee! -, so I have no idea what the lineups may be. I suspect Chelsea will play a most of the familiar faces whom we know from U21 broadcasts. In fact:

"In terms of age group, we only lose three players - Jamal Blackman, Adam Nditi and Alex Davey - from the squad that's performing well. That shows firstly how young we are in the Under-21s but also that we should have expectations of progressing in this competition."

-Dermot Drummy; source: Chelsea FC

For what it's worth, the squad shown on UEFA's website has changed in the last 12 hours. While there's still no sign of Jeremie Boga, the list now includes this year's leading scorer Isaiah Brown and last year's leading scorer Alex Kiwomya as well.

You should read the rest of Drummy's words over at Chelsea official, then fire up Chelsea TV, and enjoy the UEFA Youth League appetizer before tonight's main course.