‘Breath-taking’ Aston Villa kids target first Youth Cup in 19 years

Prospects including Carney Chukwuemeka and Louie Barry will become the first Villa team to win the competition since 2002 if they see off the Reds (kick-off 7.45pm).

Verity’s players have sparkled on their run to the showpiece, scoring 26 goals through five rounds which included a 4-1 semi-final triumph over Albion earlier this month. But the under-18s boss believes there is still more to come from his team.

He said: “The way they’ve played football has been fantastic. Some of the attacking play has been breath-taking, and we get to watch some of that on a daily basis. We know what they’re capable of and they probably haven’t hit the heights yet. We all came away after the West Brom game – and if you win a semi-final it’s fantastic – thinking that there was some more to give. That’s exciting, but I’m also extremely proud of how we’ve played in this competition.”

After Barry scored a last-kick winner to edge a seven-goal third round thriller at Reading, Villa’s youngsters have comfortably seen off Brighton, Burton, Newcastle and the Baggies.

Tonight they will be backed by 4,750 supporters, the first time they have played in front of fans in more than a year. Assistant boss Liam Bramley believes it has been the only ingredient missing on their run to the final.

He explained: “They’ve had the opportunity to play at stadiums, they’ve had the opportunity to play in games but adding the fans into the mix is something we want to expose these players to. It’s something they’re going to have to handle if they go and make their senior debuts.

“It’s part of the learning process that they’re on. This group thrive on these occasions and I just hope that they put on a show for the fans.

A lot of these people haven’t been able to attend games, they haven’t been able to get behind the lads like they normally would. It’s going to be a fantastic occasion.”