MICHAEL Jolley believes he will find out a lot about the character of his young Clarets today when they face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park (2pm).

The East Lancashire rivals go head-to-head in the first match of the Premier League Cup group stage this afternoon with Burnley development squad boss Jolley keen to see how his young Under-23s side fare in a competitive fixture against a Category One academy.

Rovers' top grade EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) status means they play every week in Premier League 2, but the Clarets are outside of the standard development games programme due to their Category Three status.

But Jolley is relishing the opening group stage fixture at Ewood, and is intrigued to see how his side handle themselves.

"We’re full of respect for Blackburn, they’re a really strong academy and they’ve got some good coaches and some good players," he said.

"They’re playing against the best teams in the country week in week out so it’s a big challenge for our lads and with it being a local rivalry that adds an extra angle to it.

"We’re looking at our young players and saying ‘can you handle the occasion of going to Ewood Park and playing Blackburn?’. We’ll find out a lot about what we’ve got in terms of our young lads and hopefully it will be positive."

Aside from the Premier League Cup - Burnley had to beat Bournemouth and Watford just to reach the group stage - the Clarets only play friendlies at development squad level, meaning a lot of the younger stars are out on loan.

But those Turf Moor wins in the qualifying round have secured home and away fixtures against Rovers, Sunderland and Cardiff, which will be invaluable to the development squad.

"It gives us something to focus on in our season," said Jolley. "There’s a game a month through until March time. It gives young players an opportunity to show what they are all about.

"Some are out on loan playing league football, some have moved up and are training with the first team or even playing, like Aiden (O'Neill), and that’s created opportunities for some of the younger ones. We’re curious to see what they’re capable off and to see if they can follow in Aiden’s footsteps."

The wins over Bournemouth and Watford were crucial in securing these extra competitive games for Burnley.

"We performed well in both of those matches," said Jolley. "We’re not in Premier League 2 and we’re not a Category One team like Blackburn so historically we’ve been lacking in these types of competitive games for our young players.

"We’re pleased to be in this group and we’ll take it one game at a time, it’s a great experience for our young players.

"Having a competitive edge to it will be good for them. For these lads in their professional development phase they are looking up at the first team as their next port of call so they need an experience that matches that as closely as possible.

"Clearly you can’t completely replicate a Premier League environment or a first team environment but the fact it’s competitive fixtures gives it an extra edge."

Burnley will be without Kevin Long today as he serves a suspension after being sent-off win the win over Watford in the previous round.