Rovers U17s will get their EFL Floodlit Cup group stage underway this evening as they welcome reigning champions Lincoln City to the Eco-Power Stadium 3G at 7pm.
A youthful side made up of U16s players and first-year scholars will compete with four other teams in a mini-league format and the group winner will advance to the quarter-finals.
Rovers’ group gets underway on Tuesday, September 5 against the Imps before they travel to Mansfield Town on Wednesday, September 20 for matchday two.
Three weeks later the youngsters welcome North West Youth Alliance League side, Walsall to South Yorkshire for what could be the side’s earliest chance of qualification.
The final matchday of the group stage sees the U17s hit the road to take on Grimsby Town on Wednesday, November 7.
Should the youth team finish top of the group and qualify, they will then enter a one-legged knockout format with seven other sides from across the Youth Alliance.
If those knockout ties are level after 90 minutes the winner will be decided by a penalty shootout.
Matchday coverage of the youth team's EFL Floodlit Cup campaign will be provided by the Academy's official Twitter page - @DRFC_Academy.