We'll go toe to toe with City in Youth League – Johansson

Before F.C. Copenhagen's UEFA Champions League clash with Manchester City on Tuesday evening, the U19 squad face City in the UEFA Youth League at Østerbro Stadium.

The game, which kicks off at 2pm, is available for fans to buy tickets online, and takes place next to Parken Stadium.

FCK remain unbeaten in the UEFA Youth League. The Lions are tied on seven points alongside City, and came within minutes of a win in Manchester last week.

FCK U19 head coach Alfred Johansson is without captain William Clem in the centre of midfield, because the younger has been called up to the first team.

We have the players to beat City
And the boss is confident his Young Lions can produce another stellar display this afternoon.

"We are always ready to help the first team, that is always the first priority. And we still have players who are good enough to beat Manchester City," says Johansson.

"The boys are looking forward to going out and facing them again, because as we talked about after the game in Manchester, everyone was upset that City equalised so late in the game. But it is a good sign to be able to look back and say that you should have won such a match.

"We will use the experience we gained from that match."

>> Live stream FCK vs Man City Youth League game

Victory on Saturday despite changes
The FCK U19 team was in action on Saturday afternoon and although Johansson changed seven players from the starting line-up, the team secured home another victory in the U19 league.

"It's great that we have so many talented players and such a strong squad, that we can also allow ourselves to rotate at the weekend, because we want to be at the very top and compete for everything," says Johansson.

"For the match [vs City], we have to select a large squad of 20 players rather than the usual 16 in the U19 league, so that gives us a few more opportunities. We can also supplement it with some guys from the U17 squad, such as Victor Froholdt, who came on against Sevilla and City.

"It is, of course, valuable for an U17 player to get a feel for the whole setup around the Youth League, but each player is primarily involved based on our assessment of their qualities and position. We ask ourselves where do we need players in the various positions on the pitch, or when we expect to have to replace them, and what qualities they have to solve the challenges ahead."

>> Live stream FCK vs Man City Youth League game

Watch Youth League live
You can watch F.C. Copenhagen U19 vs Manchester City in the UEFA Youth League via live stream on our Youtube channel, with Christian Boier on the microphone.

You can also secure your seat to watch the match at the stadium (DKK 50 for adults, DKK 25 for children) online at billet.fck.dk. Please note that there are no ticket sales at the entrance, which is at the end of the stadium stand that faces Parken.

Friday's terrible fire inside the Sports Hall also means that the players cannot use the changing rooms over there, but instead we have been allowed to use Skjold's changing rooms under the stands.

Focus on City
Most City players who faced FCK last week were also in action at the weekend, as they play regularly for the club's Under 21 side in Premier League 2. The league is a reserve/development league for English Premier League clubs, which before this season changed from an U23 to an U21 tournament, and therefore feature players a few years older than our home U19 league.

"The game will be a good opportunity for our players to bounce back from Saturday's Premier League 2 defeat to Blackburn," said City manager Brian Barry-Murphy, who is in charge of both the Premier League 2 and Youth League teams.

Eleven of the players who were on the pitch in our Youth League game on Wednesday also featured in Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Blackburn. Incidentally, it was the team's first league defeat of the season after eight games.

>> Live stream FCK vs Man City Youth League game

Important group match
Tuesday's Youth League clash could be decisive in who wins the group – the two teams both have seven points from the first three games, but City's goal difference is slightly better. Both first and second in the group progress to play in the Youth League knockout stages after the New Year.