In the past two campaigns, City fell to a 2-1 defeat at FSV Mainz and Hajduk Split which saw our Under-19s exit the competition at the Round of 16 stage.
And in the years prior, City narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knockout stage in the competition’s previous format.
Our last knockout outing saw City fall just shy of a place in the final in 2017/18, losing 5-4 to Barcelona.
Leading the Under-19s for the first time this term, Wilkinson is excited by the prospect of breaking the cycle.
“I think in this competition we’ve probably not done quite as well as we would like to as an Academy over the last few years and we’ve fallen in a couple of these away games in the past so I think it’s something we’d love to put right,” he said.
“And to try and change that narrative. I think it will definitely give us a boost, it is tricky because the teams are quite different - you know an U18s team, an [FA] Youth Cup team, an U19s team and a PL2 team and there are players who fit in the different categories. Trying to find the right blend is a challenge but one that we’re used to. But undoubtedly if you can go deep in these big competitions it gives everyone a boost and a feeling that we’re travelling in the right direction.”
On Wednesday 12 February, City will take on FC Midtjylland in Denmark with kick-off scheduled for 13:00pm (UK).
And in the new format, our first knockout stage game will see us compete in the Round of 32 after finishing 11th in the league phase after six games which included three wins, one draw and two defeats.
And Wilkinson expects another tough European test in FC Midtjylland who qualified for the Round of 32 through the Champions Pathway.
“I think it will be a very difficult game. I think over the years this competition has proven that if you just look at our results in the knockout stages that when you go away from home in Europe it’s a very difficult game as you know the atmosphere, the environment, is intimidating,” began Wilkinson.
“All of these teams have got to this point in the competition because they’re a good team. They’re a fantastic club, over the last 10/15 years their development has been really steep and they’ve produced a lot of young players who have come through the academy.
“So I think from a recruitment perspective they recruit really well, they’re a bit of a hot bed for talent in Scandinavia and for bringing players in so without a shadow of a doubt it will be a really tough game. And interesting for us to sort of learn from our past experiences in this competition and try and go over there and be really professional and try to A put on a good performance and B come home with a positive result.”
City EDS defender Stephen Mfuni also joined Wilkinson in the City Studio to preview the clash.
You can hear what the versatile defender had to say ahead of our trip to Denmark via the video above…
