Manchester City Draw Preston in Carabao Cup

Last year the Carabao Cup became the first trophy Manchester City had ever successfully defended.

Yesterday the draw was made for the third round of the Carabao Cup. It is at this point where Manchester City enter the competition as the reigning champions and Cup holders.

We waited with baited breath as ex footballers Andy Hinchcliffe and Don Goodman drew the teams out of the proverbial hat after the match between Lincoln City and Everton. Hinchcliffe was something of a favourite Manchester City player for me growing up, as he was an important part of that late 1980’s side.

Don Goodman pulled City out of the hat and just like that we were drawn away to Championship team Preston North End with the tie to take place in the week of 24 September 2019.

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In many ways this was a refreshing draw because City were facing a relatively local team against whom we have never previously played in the League Cup. This makes a nice change from some of our recent travels where we seem to have had some lengthy trips.

Preston currently sit in 6th place in the Championship and have pulled off some good results so far this season – beating teams such as Stoke City, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday so far. No doubt by the time we face them they will be in peak Barcelona form!

Preston secured their passage into the Carabao Cup third round by beating Hull City after a penalty shoot out. And I have no doubt they will pose us some problems in this upcoming match.

City have played Preston somewhat infrequently in recent decades. We used to play them with some regularity when we were both staple top division sides but as Preston fell lower down the divisions, games became fewer.

Between the late 1960s and 1990s, as we began our own slump, we did not play each other at all. We encountered each other a few times in the lower divisions since 1998 and our last meeting was in the FA Cup fifth round back in 2007, when we ran out 3:1 winners thanks to goals from Michael Ball, Stephen Ireland and an own goal.

The match against Preston will be interesting for a host of reasons. City will no doubt use the opportunity to give some of our squad players a real run in the team so we should at least get to see Phil Foden in action! Whether or not we progress past Preston will largely depend upon the team we select. You would hope we have enough quality to get through.

I certainly hope we do because although the League Cup is beleaguered in many ways, it remains a premier Cup competition in many ways. I like both the opportunity to win a trophy early in the season – with the final taking place at the beginning of March.

Many top teams have disrespected this competition by fielding weakened sides and the very competition itself is under threat due to the proposed changes to the Champions League format in the years ahead. But City have not disrespected the trophy and our recent record – winners in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 – speaks volumes.

The best thing about the Carabao Cup for me though is the fact it is a real fans final. Tickets are predominantly made available for fans rather than corporate sponsors and FA staff so it is a real opportunity for City fans to see their team in action at Wembley!

So, let us hope City put on a display against Preston and we go far in this competition again!