We welcome Crystal Palace to the Joie Stadium for a 19:00 (UK) kick-off on Friday 6 December in a match the Lead Coach is confident will be a tricky start to the campaign.
We enter the competition in the third round after what has been an impressive few months of football from our Under-18s. Reiss’s squad sit second in the league and have advanced to the knockout stage of the Under-18 Premier League Cup.
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But now our attention turns to the FA Youth Cup and the difficult fixture ahead.
“It will be a tough game,” began Reiss. “Not just because I am expecting a good team, a good squad, a good opponent but also because this is the FA Youth Cup and when I think about what everyone around me is telling me, teams are coming here to beat us [Manchester City].
“They will put in everything they have. So, it’s not just because of the opponent, I’m 100% sure they are really good, but because of the competition and so it will be a tough game.
“I think, as every season, they [the fans] can be excited in terms of what is to come because as a youth team from Manchester City, the expectation is always to win this [competition] of course at the end and I think every year we have a squad who can do this.
“We have a lot of very talented players, they showed it already in the past weeks in different competitions. So yes, I’m sure that with this team we have a big opportunity to go to the next stage.”
The German coach will lead the team in his debut game in the competition since his move to Manchester in the summer. And he is thrilled to be taking on the challenge of Crystal Palace in our first cup clash.
He is also looking forward to getting to coach at the Joie Stadium, the home of our Women’s and EDS team, in what is a special moment for him and his squad.
And to help him prepare, Reiss has been in contact with Elite Development Squad Lead Coach Ben Wilkinson who led the Under-18s to FA Youth Cup victory last season.
“Yes of course we are talking a lot and also about this cup,” said Reiss.
“I’m very happy and thankful for all the advice I can get from him but not just Ben [Wilkinson] but a lot of coaches and members around me are talking to me and giving me their expertise and expectations to help give me a feeling of this cup.
“I’m very thankful for this and yeah it gave me a good picture of this competition.
“And I’m very excited. So not just because of the stadium but when you put it all together. It’s the stadium, it is the Club [representing City], it is the competition but also playing at night with the lights so the atmosphere is always special.
“I’m ready!”
Watch Reiss’s FA Youth Cup interview in full via the video above…
