FA Youth Cup Final Preview: Manchester City vs Leeds United

It all comes down to Friday’s clash at the Etihad.

Leeds United Under-18s have the chance to make history as they travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup Final.

The Whites have won the prestigious tournament twice before, in 1993 and 1997, with Rob Etherington’s young side now just 90 minutes away from getting their hands on the silverware.

The memorable campaign so far began at Carrow Road, where goals from Marley Wilson and captain Dan Toulson saw United overcome a strong Norwich City side.

Leeds faced another long road trip in the next round, but this was not to make the team, with a brace from Max McFadden completing an emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on the south coast.

A fiery Yorkshire derby with rivals Sheffield United was next on the trip, where striker Wilson’s acrobatic volley put the Whites ahead before the Blades hit back to take the tie to penalties.

With a quarter-final tie with Liverpool in play, Scotland youth international Rory Mahady proved to be the hero at Bramall Lane, saving twice in the penalty shootout to spark wild celebrations as the Whites progressed.

Despite the caliber of the opposition at Elland Road, Etherington’s side put in a commanding performance in front of their supporters, racing into a three-goal lead thanks to two braces from Rhys Chadwick and a well-taken header from Freddie Lane, with the Reds grabbing a late consolation.

Backed by over 10,000 fans when United hosted familiar foes Millwall in LS11, the Whites had to dig deep to beat the Lions, with Chadwick again among the goals to equalize after falling behind early on.

Charlie Crew put his side ahead before half-time before the visitors hit back once more, but with the help of two second-half own goals, Leeds deserved the result to book their place in the final.

A 2-0 away win at Watford kicked off Manchester City’s FA Youth Cup campaign before they needed extra-time to overcome West Ham United in the capital.

Back-to-back 2-1 wins over Reading and Tottenham set up a final showdown with Bristol City, where a late strike from substitute Ashton Muir broke the Robins’ resistance as the Blues progressed.

The action at the Etihad kicks off at 7pm.

Important Supporter Information:

Discriminatory language or singing is not acceptable and you may be breaking the law. The club condemns this behavior and has a zero tolerance policy towards discriminatory abuse of any kind.

All English football leagues have tough measures and sanctions in place to tackle dangerous and illegal behavior on football pitches and this includes, but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, chants of tragedy, fans entering the pitch, using pyrotechnics and throwing of objects.

Information about the Etihad, including a matchday guide for supporters, parking details and food and drink options, can be found HERE.

A night to remember at Elland Road:

The match will be live exclusively in the UK on FA Player, as well as the FA Cup’s YouTube, Twitter and TikTok channels. Fans can sign up to FA Player and watch the match for free HERE. International supporters are advised to check local listings.

Fans can also stay right here on leedsunited.com to follow live blog updates throughout the 90 minutes, with full match report, reaction and highlights available after the game has finished.