Jason Wilcox’s side travel to London in high spirits after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the first leg and are now 90 minutes away from reaching a second successive FA Youth Cup final.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide gave the Gunners the lead at the Academy Stadium on 18 March before goals from Lukas Nmecha and Isaac Buckley gave the young Blues a one-goal advantage heading into the return fixture.
City are now unbeaten in 12 games, a run that stretches back to early December, and will be looking to make it 13 come 10pm Monday.
Speaking to mcfc.co.uk ahead of the game, midfielder Jacob Davenport says that the young Blues are in high spirits and are looking forward to playing at the Emirates Stadium, which has graced many a talent in recent years.
He said: “I’m feeling very positive going into the second leg. We’ve got the advantage so that’s a positive, but we’ll go there in high spirits and, if we play like we did in the first leg, we’ll be alright.”
The 17-year old continued: “The Emirates Stadium is a beautiful ground so I’m looking forward to playing there.
“Throughout the FA Youth Cup we’ve played at former Premier League grounds, which has been a great experience, but now we go to the Emirates, where top stars have all played since Arsenal moved there.
“It will be an unbelievable occasion.”
Manager Wilcox also spoke to mcfc.co.uk prior to the second leg, stating that the one-goal lead from the Academy Stadium could be crucial to City’s chances.
The 44-year old commented: “The lads are a bit disappointed they didn’t score more goals, but that’s football and we’ve now got to take a one-goal advantage into the second leg at the Emirates, which is better than not having that!
“I was really pleased with the first leg. We started the game really sloppily and I don’t think we were quiet at it in the first ten minutes, which is when we conceded.
“After that, I thought we were excellent and I couldn’t have asked for any more from the players.”
Monday’s FA Youth Cup second leg will be shown live on ITV4 and will kick off at 7.45pm (BST). We’ll have live coverage on our official Twitter account, @MCFC, as well as a report and reaction on mcfc.co.uk.
