There have already been some memorable moments for Rico Lewis this season, but as the right-back contemplates a start against Liverpool on Thursday he is looking forward to what will be the biggest night of his career so far.
The academy graduate turned 18 during the World Cup and with so many senior players going deep into the tournament, including right-back Kyle Walker, he could benefit with a place in Pep Guardiola's starting line-up for the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at the Etihad.
Lewis has appeared in three Premier League games this season and started - and scored - in a Champions League fixture, but in terms of opposition, this will be another level up, with Jurgen Klopp's side regularly Manchester City's closest challengers in the last four years.
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He played 90 minutes in the 2-0 win against Girona at the Academy Stadium on Saturday, on an afternoon when senior players Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Erling Haaland also started. Before the World Cup Guardiola had said he would fill his side to face Liverpool with academy players and even joked he could start himself, but Mahrez and Haaland didn't go to the World Cup and Gundogan and De Bruyne exited in the group stage.
Lewis is likely to start, however, with Walker not yet back in training, and asked if it would be the biggest game of his career, he said: "Definitely, against one of the biggest teams in the world at the moment. It would be a brilliant game to be playing in.
"It will be big. I’ve got no clear if I play or not, I’d love to but it’s not my choice, it’s up to the manager, whatever he picks I’ll do."
While the team Guardiola picks might be relying heavily on academy graduates, Klopp has the benefit of having more first-team players available. Only seven Liverpool players went to the World Cup and Darwin Nunez is back in training already, with Uruguay going out at the group stage.
Mohamed Salah is likely to feature, with Egypt not going to the World Cup, and it could be a serious test for Lewis, although whatever happens, he believes he'll be a better player for the experience.
"You’ve just got to take the challenge as it comes. If I play I’ll do the best I can, that’s all I really can do," he said. "Playing against people like that will only make you a better player, if you play well or struggle you’re going to learn regardless."
The Bury-born full-back has been with City since he was eight and has plenty of experience of facing Liverpool as he's progressed through the academy at the Etihad Campus.
That rivalry has been growing at first-team level recently, to the point that representatives from both clubs have held talks over how to cool the situation ahead of Thursday's game, but Lewis insists that edge between the sides has transferred down the age groups as well.
"All the way through the academy they’ve always had a good team, through 15s, 16s, 18s, it’s always been quite close games and the rivalry is the same as the first team really," he said.
Lewis began the World Cup with an Under-23s training camp in Morocco and then jetted out to Abu Dhabi with the first-team players not involved in Qatar, including Mahrez, Haaland, Stefan Ortega and Sergio Gomez.
He's been in the matchday squad in 15 of City's 16 Premier League games this season, so has become a regular fixture amongst the first-team group, and he feels he benefitted from the camp in Abu Dhabi, when so many senior players were absent.
"For me, when there are less first-team players I’ve got more attention on me as one of the more known players for first-team staff, so it allows me to help myself individually and they can focus more on me as there are less of them," he said.
Lewis should certainly be sharp against Liverpool. As well as playing 90 minutes in the friendly against Girona, he played 88 minutes for the Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup third-round win against Blackburn last Wednesday.
Despite being a regular in first-team squads this season, he asked to drop down and play for the Under-18s to stay sharp as he tries to manage a rise to the brink of the seniors, while maintaining his fitness.
He might go from facing Blackburn Rovers Under-18s to Liverpool in the space of eight days, but that is unlikely to faze Lewis.
"I just love playing football," he says.
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