After putting together a three-match unbeaten run in Sky Bet League Two, the Mariners kick-off their EFL Trophy campaign tomorrow night as Manchester City under-21s visit Blundell Park.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Walsall followed a home victory over Salford and a draw against Mansfield Town with Abo Eisa scoring all of our four goals across those matches. A summer signing from Bradford City, the winger has become a fans’ favourite in his opening outings as a Mariner.

Team News

Defender Niall Maher returned from injury to make only his second appearance of the season on Saturday and manager Paul Hurst shared that he came through that outing well.

Following the full-time whistle, Hurst also revealed that combative midfielder Kieran Green will be ruled out for around six weeks after picking up a knee injury in training last week. He joins Donovan Wilson and Otis Khan in the treatment room.

Manchester City Under-21s

The Citizens’ youngsters started their PL2 campaign three weekends ago with defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham coming before this weekend’s 4-4 draw against Aston Villa.

Justin Oboavwoduo scored a brace in the last of those outings while striker Taione Sodje has netted in each of the last two matches.

Managed by former Rochdale boss Brian Barry-Murphy, City’s under-21s are expected to pose a technical challenge to the Mariners with their youngsters keen to catch the eye for an opportunity in first-team football.

Previous Meetings

The two sides faced each other last season at the same stage of this competition with a penalty shoot-out victory for the Mariners following a 1-1 draw at Blundell Park.

Referee

Daniel Middleton will be the referee tomorrow night in what will be his first Mariners match since our 0-0 National League draw at Weymouth in April 2022. He will be assisted by Anthony Da Costa and Connor Brown.

Coverage

Tomorrow night’s match is available to watch on Mariners TV for supporters both in the UK and overseas. Match passes are available HERE for just £10.

UTM