Chelsea youth coach Ed Brand says they're ready for their FA Youth Cup tie with Bradford City.

Brand prepares to take charge of his fourth Youth Cup campaign as Under-18s boss, the focus turns to important experiences and the opportunity to end the year on a high.

"We're looking forward to starting our campaign," he told chelseafc.com. "It's nice to have a home draw so we get to go to Kingsmeadow and for some of the boys that will be the first time they've experienced playing there, which will be good for them.

"We have a few boys with that experience already, which will be important on the day against a Bradford team that has a lot of quality about it. We've watched their games and they play a good style of football. They have a reputation in the leagues that they play in and up north for playing good football and producing good footballers.

"We had a game against them a few years ago in the competition which we came out the right end of but I vividly remember that night because they were well coached and played some really good football. We're expecting a difficult game and they'll have our full respect as always."

Brand added, "The Youth Cup is always a special competition at this place and it's one that everyone gets excited about so hopefully we can put on a good performance, get a good result and send everyone into Christmas in a good frame of mind."