Wellington Phoenix will face their third English Premier League team inside a year when they contest the Hong Kong Football Club’s soccer sevens tournament in May.
Playing for the first time in the competition, the Phoenix meet five-times winners Aston Villa in a tough opening pool match.
Ten months ago, EPL sides West Ham and Newcastle United played the Phoenix and Sydney FC in a four-way tournament in New Zealand.
Wellington came away with a 2-1 victory over West Ham, but were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle.
Phoenix general manager David Dome says the club is looking forward to taking on more English Premier League opposition.
“We’re super excited about taking a young team as part of the Hong Kong tour and playing Aston Villa,” he said.
“This will be the third EPL side we’ve faced in under 12 months, which is tremendous exposure for us as a club.”
Dome said the Phoenix would take a mix of young players from their academy, reserve team and A-League squad.
Spanish champions Atletico Madrid will also contest the tournament, which runs from May 29-31, and also includes EPL teams Newcastle, West Ham United and Stoke City.
Source: AAP