Our men’s under-18s are in FA Youth Cup fourth round action on Tuesday as they take on Manchester City, kick-off 7pm.
Arthur Brammer’s team reached this stage of the competition thanks to a 2-1 win over Dover Athletic, while City secured a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
“Facing a team like Manchester City ramps up the excitement,” Brammer said. “There’s a good buzz around it and we’re trying to approach it in a positive way. We’re in a good position to go and show our identity there, there’s a lot of positives.
“We’ve had three games in a row called off, so the boys haven’t played since mid-December. The positive of that is we’ve got pretty much everyone back fit.
“We would have liked to have played a couple more matches, but we’ve had a couple of in-house games, so the boys have had good opportunities to show why they should be in the team.”
City are four points clear at the top of Premier League North, emphasising their credentials as one of the favourites in this season’s competition.
“They’ve got a really clear identity and are one of the strongest under-18s teams in the country as you might expect for a club the size of Manchester City,” Brammer added.
The game takes place at City’s Academy Stadium.