The young Blues are bidding to go far in the competition they last won in 2008, when a side including Dedryck Boyata, Vladimir Weiss, Abdi Ibrahim and Daniel Sturridge triumphed over Chelsea in the final.
After exiting the competition at the fifth round stage for the last two years in succession, City will be looking to replicate their excellent league form in this prestigious cup competition. The boy Blues have now won eight matches on the trot to take top spot in the under-18 Premier League.
Younger members of the EDS, such as Marcos Lopes, Olivier Ntcham, Mathias Bossaerts and Jose Angel Pozo, would also be eligible for selection to help the under-18s in the quest for silverware.
Speaking about the recent success of the team, Head of Academy, Mark Allen said: “It’s all about patience paying off, we’ve been really patient in the last three of four years trying to establish the kind of City player that we want to produce and how we want to play as a team.
“I have been particularly pleased with the under-18s and how they have been playing, not just with the ball but how hard they work to win it back when they’re off it.
...Mark Allen...
“What we’re doing is giving teams something to think about – they may well think that if they match us physically in the first ten or 15 minutes we may wane physically but that’s been not the case.
“If anything, we’re getting stronger as games go on, we’ve got a real desire not to get beaten and there is a great team ethic evident within that group.
“Jason is doing an outstanding job along with all of the staff who are supporting that age-group.”
Meanwhile, the visitors come into the fixture on the back of away draws to Chesterfield and Hartlepool.
Kick off is at 7pm at Ewen Fields, Hyde. You can pay on the gate, with tickets priced at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
We’ll have regular updates on twitter, as well as a full match report on mcfc.co.uk.
