Villa v City: Under-18 Premier League National final preview
Everything you need to know ahead of City's Under-18 Premier League National final against Aston Villa.
WHEN AND WHERE
Oliver Reiss and his side travel to Villa Park for a 13:00 (UK) kick-off on Saturday 17 May. If a winner for one of the most exciting games of the season cannot be decided in 90 minutes, the match will go to extra-time and if nothing can separate the two teams after that, a penalty shootout will await.
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It's our second encounter with the Villans this month, City having lost 3-1 to the West Midlands outfit in the FA Youth Cup final.
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City confirmed our place in the National final after a dramatic 4-3 win over Derby County to seal the North title with one game to go in the 2024/25 campaign.
Aston Villa also secured their place in the showpiece occasion, claiming top spot in the Southern league, with one match left following their 1-0 triumph over Leicester City.
This means Saturday's final will see the two best teams in the country go head-to-head to earn the honour of being crowned Under-18 National champions.
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Regular updates of the match will be available on X: @ManCityAcademy once the game begins.
A comprehensive match report and post-match reaction will be available on mancity.com and the Official Man City App shortly after the final whistle.
WATCH: Extended highlights: City U18s 4-3 Derby
PREVIOUS MEETING
Our last encounter with Villa also took place at Villa Park as our 3-1 defeat in the FA Youth Cup final played out.
Matty Warhurst gave City the lead after just two minutes but goals from TJ Carroll, Cole Brannigan and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba saw Villa lift the prestigious trophy.
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City, however, will be looking to make amends after the cup loss and will be hoping our experience of competing in the National final will see us overcome Villa who are taking part in their first North versus South match-up.
WATCH: Full match replay: FA Youth Cup final – Aston Villa v City
LAST TIME OUT
A heavily rotated City Under-18s squad travelled to Newcastle for our final league game of the campaign.
It resulted in an action-packed 3-3 draw that saw City hit a new league points record, totalling 65 compared to the previous record of 61.
Christian Dunbar-McDonald gave City the lead before quick second-half goals from Kacey Wooster and Matheos Ferreira put the hosts ahead.
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Leke Drake headed home Finlay Gorman's corner to draw us level before Gorman added his name to the scoresheet on 79 minutes with a clinical 25-yard strike.
It seemed like City would end the campaign with a 23-game winning run but Matthew Taylor's 90th minute goal meant the spoils were shared.
WATCH: Extended highlights: Newcastle 3-3 City U18s
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