TheCable

Kelechi Iheanacho is hoping lightning strikes twice when Manchester City take on Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup fourth round on Thursday.

The Nigerian teenager stole the headlines when he scored within a minute of coming on as a substitute in the Barclays Premier League meeting at Selhurst Park in September.

That proved to be the only goal of the game and immediately put the youngster in the spotlight – now he is hoping to feature against the Eagles again with similar results.

“Crystal Palace will always be a special game for me because I scored my first goal against them,” he told his club’s website.

“It won’t be easy because they are a quality side. They are very strong and have very good wingers so they will believe they can come here and win.

“A few teams have beaten us at home this season and they will fancy their chances so we have to be careful, respect them and expect this to be a very difficult match.”

The winner of the match will progress into the quarter-finals of the competition and within touching distance of the final – and a place at Wembley – a venue Kelechi is yet to experience in any form.

“We know that if we win, we’re only three games away from a final at Wembley, a place I’ve always wanted to play at so we’ll be going all out to beat them,” he said.

“As I said, it won’t be easy but we are at home and have been playing well lately.”