West Ham United Under-18s will gear up for next week's FA Youth Cup fifth-round visit of Newcastle United by welcoming Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
Tony Carr and his players are eager to bounce back following last weekend's 4-3 FA Premier Academy League defeat by Chelsea. A dramatic day saw the squad involved in a minor road accident on their way to the Blues' Cobham training ground.
A week on, the Hammers will take on the Addicks at Little Heath, with the Academy Director eyeing a morale-boosting victory ahead of their big cup date on Wednesday evening.
"We're playing Charlton on Saturday, but I will have one eye on next Wednesday's game. With that in mind, I plan to play a young team again, as I did at Chelsea. Hopefully, they will rise to the challenge and do well," said Carr.
"We want to try to keep the squad as fresh as possible ahead of the Newcastle game, which could mean giving some of the schoolboys a run out again."
U16s Robert Hall, Blair Turgott and Dominic Vose all started last Saturday's match at Chelsea, and the trio are set to be involved against this time around. Fellow schoolboy Mathias Fanimo, an England U16 international, could also be included in Carr's squad.
England U17 striker Hall will be eager to maintain his flourishing partnership with Colombia-born Cristian Montano. Hall netted his seventh goal of the season in the FA Youth Cup fourth-round win over Queens Park Rangers, while Montano has scored six goals in his last three matches, including two at Chelsea.
Unfortunately, midfielder Nicky Barrett will definitely miss Charlton's visit after being ruled out for six weeks with an ankle ligament injury, while Republic of Ireland U17 midfielder Eoin Wearen and left-back Jordan Brown both face a battle to be fit.
"Nicky is definitely out, but I'm hoping Eoin and Jordan will be ready for the Newcastle game," Carr confirmed. "It's just a matter of getting through Saturday's game unscathed, then we can prepare for Newcastle."
A win for West Ham over second-bottom Charlton could lift the Hammers into second place in FA Premier Academy League Group A.
Kick-off at Little Heath is at 11am. Admission and parking are both free.