That’s because the boy Blues have been drawn against Rangers in this year’s Citibank HKFC Soccer Sevens tournament – the team that knocked them out at the quarter final stage of the same competition last season.
Making only their second appearance in the event, City will take on the Scottish giants, a Hong Kong Football Association qualifier (TBC) and Singapore Cricket Club in Group C.
The draw was made by Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Macau (pictured above).
City had the youngest squad in the Soccer Sevens last year and eventually went down 3-1 to Rangers after conceding two late goals in the last eight.
Jack Byrne had pegged the Blues level but the Ibrox side came back strongly to advance to the semi-finals.
Leicester City eventually went on to win the competition.
The 15th edition of the tournament will be held from May 23-25 at Hong Kong Football Club, host venue since the inaugural event in 1999.
Most of the British clubs will be fielding players between the ages of 17 to 21 as they bid to win a tournament that each year features future Premier League and international stars.
Head of Academy, Mark Allen, said the Blues are looking forward to building on their debut last year.
“I thought it was a fantastic experience. It was well organised and well coordinated, and equivalent to any top tournament I’ve been to,” Allen said.
“I thought the format was fantastic and it was also great from the development perspective as well. We’re all really looking forward to coming back.”
Tony Bratsanos, Chairman of the HKFC Soccer Sevens Organising Committee, is pleased by the increasing diversity and quality of the competition.
“I think we have one of our strongest-ever line-ups this year, with Chelsea and Manchester City representing two of world football’s biggest clubs, defending champions Leicester City, former winners Newcastle United and Aston Villa, two-time finalists Rangers, and Sunderland,” Bratsanos said.
Tickets are on sale from April 14 and are available at http://www.cityline.com. Entry is free on the Friday evening, while tickets for the weekend are priced at HK$160 per day or HK$300 for a two-day pass.
Full draw
Group A: Newcastle United (ENG), Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN), HKFA U-23 (HKG), Hong Kong Football Club (HKG)
Group B: Chelsea (ENG), Sunderland (ENG), Kitchee (HKG), HKFC Captain’s Select (HKG)
Group C: Manchester City (ENG), Rangers (SCO), HKFA Qualifier (HKG), Singapore Cricket Club (SIN)
Group D: Leicester City (ENG), Aston Villa (ENG), HKFA U-21 (HKG), Yau Yee League Select (HKG)
The race for the Premier League has come to the boil, so make sure you’re there to lend your support as we bid for a second title in three years.
Tickets are still available for the two of the last first-team games taking place at the Etihad Stadium this season, against Sunderland and West Brom.
They could be decisive clashes, so don’t miss out.
