Patrick Vieira’s young side have a flawless record in the competition so far, after a hat-trick of victories over Bayern Munich, AS Roma and CSKA Moscow in Group E.
A brace from Jose Angel Pozo was enough to secure victory in Russia two weeks’ ago, but it was another excellent team display from City’s youngsters, who continue to sparkle in the European arena.
Another three points against CSKA would guarantee passage to the next stage, and EDS Boss Vieira is urging City fans to get down to Hyde and cheer the team on for what could be a special day for the club.
“I think it would be fantastic to see more fans coming to support the team,” he told mcfc.co.uk. “In the UEFA Youth League the players are doing very well, and we are talking about the future of the football club so to have the fans come and support would be fantastic for us.
“[Qualification] is one more reason for them to come because it is a must win game for us. If we manage to win the game we will have qualified and that is important for the football club.”
City u19s reached the quarter finals of this competition last year and are bidding to go even further this time after a succession of impressive performances at home and on the continent.
However, the boss warned he is expecting a tougher test from CSKA Moscow than his charges faced in the Russian freeze last time out.
Vieira declared: “It has been really good so far, three games, three wins. We want to keep our philosophy so we want to play and try to create chances, score and win games if we can. In the Youth League we have been scoring goals and playing very well.
“It will be more difficult because this is a team which is well-organised and strong in the counter attack. We need to try and control the game and I am expecting a more difficult game at home than away.”
CSKA left Hyde with all three points at this stage last year after a 2-1 victory, while this year they lie third in the table after three games.
Kick off is at 2pm, Wednesday 5 November at Hyde. We’ll have team news, half time and full time updates on twitter, as well as live text commentary on our #cityblog.
