U21s preview: Manchester City v Arsenal | Match preview | News
Our under-21s face Manchester City on Saturday, April 25 (7pm UK) at Joie Stadium in the first round of the Premier League 2 play-offs, looking to advance to the last eight of the competition.
We finished the regular season in 14th-place in the league table, setting up a clash with the Citizens after the defending PL2 Champions finished third, three points behind Chelsea and Manchester United.
With another play-off berth secured, we’ve maintained our 100% record of qualifying for the post-season tournament, with standout wins over Wolves, Leeds United and Reading along the way.
The Opposition
Manchester City enjoyed a successful season in PL2, winning 13 of their 20 regular season matches. The Citizens finished the season on strong form too, winning their final four fixtures.
Despite finishing third, City had the best attack and defence in the division this season, scoring 59 goals and conceding just 21 across 20 league games.
Forwards Mahamadou Sangare and Matty Warhurst have been the standout players for the defending champions, with twenty goals between them this season in all competitions.
Last Season’s Play-offs
This will be the second straight season which takes us to Joie Stadium in the Premier League 2 play-offs.
Last time around, our knockout campaign began with a memorable 2-1 win over Newcastle United, courtesy of a stoppage time penalty from Khayon Edwards.
We then travelled to Manchester to face City, and started brightly, taking the lead in the first minute before doubling our lead shortly after half-time.
But City fought back to level the tie at 2-2, before netting the winner in extra time to reach the last four.
The Citizens then went on to beat rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals and Southampton in the final, both by a 2-0 scoreline.
How to Follow
Live updates will be available throughout the game on our academy’s official X account.
Post match, highlights will be available on the Arsenal app and on Arsenal.com.
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