Norwich's youngsters are not to be underestimated

MK Dons will not be taking Norwich U21s lightly on Tuesday night when the sides meet in the Papa John's Trophy at Stadium MK.

Russell Martin's side have already lost to an academy side in the competition this season - losing to Southampton U21s last month - and will take on the Canaries for a spot in the last 16 of the tournament.

The sides have met in the competition before, crossing paths in 2016 when Carlton Morris netted for Norwich in a 4-1 victory at Carrow Road. He will miss out on Tuesday night's game, unable to play against his parent club as part of his loan agreement.

Martin said despite the relative inexperience of academy sides in the competition, Dons' game against Southampton should act as a warning against complacency.

He said: "You saw from the Southampton game, these teams are athletic, relentless with their energy. And they have to approach it like that because they're not ready yet to compete physically.

"They had good results against Plymouth and Newport, they've got a good way of playing and a lot of success with young players going into the first team. When academy players see those opportunities, it makes a huge difference to their mentality. They're a club in a good place at the moment and the U21s will be the same."

George Williams looks set to return to the side to face Norwich - he also played in the fixture in 2016 - and says Dons must approach the game with the same intensity they showed against National League sides Eastleigh and Barnet in the FA Cup recently.

He said: "We need to treat every game the same, just like we did against Eastleigh and Barnet. This game is no different. We did well in the group because we took the games seriously and we wanted to win.

"Russ has mentioned they're a good side, they are fit, they want to press high up the pitch so it will be a tough challenge. I'm sure they'll be hungry because they're knocking on the door of the first team, trying to get into the manager's plans."