Gareth Taylor’s youngsters have averaged more than three goals a game in the league so far this season and for the Liverpool born full back it’s this offensive threat which breeds confidence amongst the squad.
The U18s welcome the Potters to the City Football Academy on Saturday 18 November and will be hoping to return to winning ways after a draw and defeat against Reading and Everton respectively.
It was the Toffees who condemned City to a first league defeat before the international break, but Corrigan expects the team to bounce back against Stoke.
“We were unlucky against Everton and against Reading we played really well without getting the goal.
“If we play like that against Stoke then we’ll win.
“The manager has got us playing well. We’re a very balanced team and we’re all very confident in each other.
“We’ve got players like Nabil (Touaizi), Henri (Ogunby) and Keke (Simmonds), who can all get goals for us, so as a defender I know if we can keep it tight at the back, then we will score at the other end.”
Corrigan admits two games without a win leaves a burning desire to taste victory again, but you’ll not find confidence dented in a squad he reveals boasts a number of leaders.
“It’s really enjoyable playing in this team and we’ve got great character within the group.
“We showed that early in the season when we went through a period of conceding first, but we came from behind to win numerous times.
“There’s a lot of people willing to speak up when we’ve won or lost and things like that will stand us in good stead for the Stoke game.”
The visitors come into the game on the back of a good 1-0 win over Manchester United in the U18 Premier League Cup and have pedigree at this level, having reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup last season.
Then part of the U16s, Corrigan was watching on that night as City beat Stoke to reach the final and is expecting them to pose a multitude of challenges this season.
“They’re a big, physical team.
“I watched them last year in the Youth Cup and they had Tyrese Campbell and another other big lad up front.
“I’ve not seen how good they are technically, but I know if we play the way we can then we should win because we’re a good match for anyone in the country.”
