Manchester City and Manchester United will meet in the FA Youth Cup final at City’s Joie Stadium, with the game moved away from the Etihad Stadium because of construction works. The derby will be the second time the clubs have faced each other in the showpiece, and it comes with the added edge of a venue row that has stretched into the final days before kick-off.
The match will be shown on iPlayer and on the Sport website and app under an agreement with TNT Sports. City are going into their third successive final, while United are chasing a record 12th success in a competition that has existed since 1952. City won the first final between the clubs in 1986, a reminder that this rivalry has already left its mark on the competition.
The dispute over where the game should be staged has given the final an unusual backdrop. United complained that it ought to be played at a main stadium and asked for it to be moved to Old Trafford, while the Football Association also wanted the game to be held in a main stadium. City refused to move it, and the club has said the Etihad is unavailable because of construction works. That decision means the match will be played at Joie Stadium, a 7,000-capacity ground, rather than in front of the larger crowd the occasion might otherwise have drawn.
The contrast with recent finals is stark. More than 67,000 people watched United beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the 2022 final at Old Trafford, when Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho started. City, meanwhile, hosted Leeds in 2024 at the Etihad in front of 20,000 spectators, and they beat Chelsea to win the trophy in 2019-20 with Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the side. United’s allocation of just under 1,000 tickets for this final sold out in minutes, while tickets in the home areas were still available to City members.
On the pitch, City have arrived with the most productive attack in the tournament. Oliver Reiss’s side have scored 18 goals on the run to the final, beating Fulham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Blackburn along the way. Teddie Lamb scored in the semi-final against Blackburn and has 28 goals in 27 games in all competitions this season, after joining from Leyton Orient for a reported £355,000 last year. He was the top scorer in the Premier League U18 competition and was nominated for the player of the year award, finishing behind JJ Gabriel. Reigan Heskey scored in the previous round, while Tyrone and Floyd Samba have scored 18 goals between them this season. Leke Drake, named City’s Premier League scholar of the year, played in every game as captain on the way to the Premier League U18 North title.
Harrison Miles, who has scored twice this season, added another layer to the build-up when he struck from long range in a league match against United earlier in the campaign. City came from 2-0 behind to win that game 4-2, and Miles said the final had been on his mind ever since. “I can’t wait to play,” he said. “It’s my second time playing in a final like this so it’s definitely exciting. We know a lot of the players, but it is always big anyway.” For City and United, the final is no longer just about a youth trophy. It is about bragging rights, the venue and a rivalry that keeps finding a bigger stage.
