Manchester City are pushing for trophies across their teams in the final weeks of the season and could win another in the coming days
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 16: Andre Harriman-Annous of Arsenal during the FA Youth Cup match between Manchester City U18 and Arsenal U18 at Joie Stadium on January 16, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Manchester City U18s have been strong in league and cup this year
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It was another excellent weekend for Manchester City. The women's team may have suffered a rare blip as they close in on the WSL title but Pep Guardiola's team reached another FA Cup final, the Under-21s knocked Arsenal out of their last-16 play-off and the Under-18s smashed in five goals at Middlesbrough.
That latter result felt particularly sweet for Oli Reiss and his players because nearest rivals United lost against Sunderland on the same day. The two Manchester sides are both duking it out to be crowned champions of the northern division and while the Reds came out on top when they met recently it is City who have been the more consistent.
The swing from the weekend means that City now lead United by six points (with a much superior goal difference) with just three games left to play. Four points will be enough from their final three games to clinch top spot, and despite only playing once this week they could still be crowned northern champions depending on other results.
United Under-18s are at home to Liverpool on Wednesday and need three points to have any hope of catching City. Anything but a win will open the door for City to win the league with two games to spare when they host Derby on Saturday.
City have won the northern division in four of the last five years, with United victorious in 2024 to partially halt the Blue dominance. Reiss's team went onto the national final but were beaten by Aston Villa and will be looking to go one better this season.
The two Manchester clubs will also fight it out in the FA Youth Cup final in the next few weeks, with a date for the showpiece event yet to be set. City won the competition in 2024 and made the final last season but were again beaten by Villa in a double for the Midlands outfit.