Manchester United and Manchester City won’t face each other again this season at a senior level, but the two clubs will duel it out at the academy level twice in six days.
Adam Lawrence’s side are the odds-on favourite to go all the way in this season’s Premier League 2 play-offs after league toppers Chelsea were knocked out by Tottenham in the quarter-finals.
Manchester United U21 beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to progress to the semi-finals, thanks to Dan Armer and Chido Obi getting a goal each.
This set up a last four battle with Manchester City after they came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa. Now the date and venue for that semi-final have been confirmed.
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Manchester United vs Manchester City U21 fixture details
Having beaten Palace on Monday night, there is a very quick turnaround for United, as the semi-final has now been scheduled in the very same week.
United have confirmed that the game will take place on Friday night (May 8th) at 7 pm BST between the two Manchester sides.
The venue for the mini-Manchester derby will be the Joie Stadium, City’s academy and women’s ground, which holds 7,000 fans.
This will also be the venue – controversially – for next Thursday’s FA Youth Cup final between the two sides, as City claim they can’t find a time to hold it at the Etihad.
United offered to host the FA Youth Cup final at Old Trafford, where 67,000 fans attended for the 2022 edition of the game, but this was refused.
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Why isn’t the FA Youth Cup final at the Etihad?
A decision this week that has sparked outrage within the United academy fanbase is City pushing the biggest game in youth football to their academy ground.
Every year, the FA Youth Cup final is played at the host team’s first team stadium, making for an incredible atmosphere for the young players, many of whom won’t have another experience like it.
But City don’t care about this, not allowing United to host after the Etihad was deemed unable to host due to fixture congestion – despite a 11 day gap between 13th May and 24th May in home games.
City argues they need this time to conclude the work on their North Stand to have it open for the final game of the season.
Despite the excuses, the decision remains atrocious for all involved on both sides. Hopefully, the FA will step in and make sure in the future they can’t do this.
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