Norwich City's FA Youth Cup quest begins tonight at Carrow Road with a third round tie against QPR (7pm).

The young Canaries suffered an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to eventual winners Chelsea last season after the tie finished goalless following extra-time. City's Under-18s chief Neil Adams believes the current crop will rise to the occasion again when they face fresh London opposition on home soil.

'It's great that the club play the games at Carrow Road. There are some teams that switch the venue to a non-league ground, which takes a little bit away from it,' he said. 'The club are brilliant allowing us to play here, it's a fantastic opportunity for the players and one they're all looking forward to. The pleasing thing is that most of the players have already played there, in the Under-21s and the reserves last year. It's a big game in the FA Youth Cup, and hopefully we'll have a strong team. We know Queens Park Rangers are a good side – they've been playing well and getting results. We're all looking forward to it and it's a game we'll be looking to win and progress from.'

Many of City's younger starlets have become regulars in the new Premier League Under-21 set-up this season as part of a major overhaul of youth football in England, which continued earlier this week when the club's academy was officially granted elite category one status.

Chelsea went onto beat Blackburn 4-1 on aggregate in last season's final, but only after surviving a major scare at Carrow Road earlier in the competition. Josh Murphy was denied by Blues' keeper Jamal Blackman from the penalty spot after Cameron McGeehan struck the bar with the Canaries' first penalty.

Tickets for tonight's game are priced at �2. Extra-time and penalties will come into play if the tie is level after 90 minutes.