Just hours before the first-team face FC Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, City u19s have their own continental date with destiny.
Schalke 04 provide the opposition in the first knockout round of the UEFA Youth League and Patrick Vieira’s side will head into the tie full of confidence as the only side in the competition with a 100% record from their group games.
Vieira came up against Schalke in the grand opening of the Academy Stadium in January but that was in the Under 21 International Premier League Cup.
The Frenchman is hoping for another positive result after watching his side run out 5-1 winners on that occasion, even if he is expecting a much closer match this time around.
“It will be a completely different team to the u21 team we played in January – Schalke’s u19s are really strong and they’ve had some great results at that level,” he told mcfc.co.uk.
“They are well organised and it will be a tough game for us.
“It’s always good to win things but we’re still a long way off thinking about anything other than the next game – winning the competition is not in my head at the moment.
What is important is for the players to show that individually, collectively, that they have improved.
...Patrick Vieira...
“If technically and tactically you do what you are supposed to do as a player, within the team structure, you give yourself a better chance to win games of football.”
Notching six wins out of six and racking up an astonishing 22 goals in the process, City finished in top spot in Group E to earn themselves a home tie against last year’s semi-finalists.
City under-18s captain Tosin Adarabioyo has played every minute of the campaign so far and he admits that he’d like to win this competition more than any other.
“To be honest I just want to win every game we get to”, he said.
“During the game obviously we’re developing, becoming better players and learning more but I just want to win that youth Champions League. That’s my main target - I’d do anything to win really.
“It is good to know that if we progress in this then we’re basically the best team in Europe at our age.”
It promises to be an eagerly contested clash and Adarabioyo is hopeful that supporters will turn out to fill the Academy Stadium and to make home advantage pay.
“It’s good because the stadium right next to the Etihad and again it shows that you’re one step below from playing for the first team,” he asserted.
“I feel like it is a lot better now because we have a community here.”
It’s the second year that City have got to the knockout rounds of the competition and they advanced from this last 16 stage last February with a 1-0 away win at Atletico Madrid.
In the quarter final, Seko Fofana’s goal at a sold-out Hyde FC was not enough to guide his side past eventual finalists, Benfica.
Schalke, who qualified from a group containing Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and Maribor, went one better than City last season, reaching the semi-finals where they lost out to FC Barcelona by a single goal.
...City u19s v Schalke: Preview...
The winners of this match will go on to the quarter finals of the tournament where they will face Ajax or Roma away from home.
Ticket information
Tickets for this game are priced from:
Free for Seasoncard holders*
£3: Adult
£1: Concession – Junior (Under 16) and Over 65s
*Seasoncard holders must claim a ticket in order to attend this event.
Tickets will be available to claim or purchase online at www.mcfc.co.uk/tickets, and to personal callers at the Ticket Office above the City Store at the Etihad Stadium.
All supporters can purchase 6 tickets under one supporter number.
*No booking fee payable on tickets purchased online.
