Sunderland under-18s entertain Manchester City at the Academy of Light this Saturday looking to return to winning ways.
Here's your all you need to know guide ahead of the U18 Premier League fixture...
LAST TIME OUT
It was a goal fest at Clayton Wood as Sunderland under-18s left with nothing. Three Stoke goals in the opening 22 minutes – a brace from Venancio Da Silva Monteiro and one from Abdoulaye Toure – put the hosts in full control of the fixture. Jordan Greenidge added to the scoreline before the half was out before Sam Greenwood and Benji Kimpioka reduced the arrears further with 42 minutes played. The Potters kicked on in the second 45 to prevent more damage being done to their lead, and two goals in the space of 60 seconds from Toure and Greenidge put the game beyond doubt. Kimpioka notched his second of the afternoon with 82 minutes played but it was too little too late to stage a comeback.
MARK ATKINSON SAYS
“Manchester City are a very good academy. They have probably had a change over of players like we have had. It is one of the better sides and that is who we want to pit ourselves up against. We want to see a reaction from our Stoke performance. For us, our performances were good up to that point and we made a lot of improvements but the Stoke game was a massive disappointment. We are looking for that reaction to make sure it is just a blip. We speak to the lads about being consistent in games and in training. We use the best players in the world as examples because they are the ones who are consistently producing. It is important because if they do produce the goods then they will get the rewards like Bali (Mumba) has had.”
WHEN AND WHERE
The match will be played at the Academy of Light on Saturday 24 February at 11am.
Please note this match will be played behind closed doors.