Watford’s bid to try and go one stage further in this season’s FA Youth Cup will start at the beginning of next month at Fleetwood Town.

The young Hornets reached the semi-finals last term when their fine run was ended by eventual winners Liverpool, and the Under-18s will be back in the north-west on Tuesday, December 3 when they face the Cod Army at the Highbury Stadium (kick-off 7pm).

The tie has been moved forward due to Fleetwood’s involvement in the Leasing.com Trophy and head of Academy Barry Quin is keen to stress the importance of the competition to the young players.

He told the club website: "It's a big competition at this level. It gets bandied around a lot that winning isn't important at this level but it is – it's very important, especially at the sharp end of Under-18s and Under-23s.

"It's all about results, and results in this competition get you noticed. They put the players and the club in the window and you get to play opposition you wouldn't usually play against, like Liverpool last season. You can test where you are at. It gives the players a taste.

"It's an important competition for us and our run last season was terrific. The lads played really, really well and hopefully we'll be able to do at least the same again this season."