Why one of Man City's best ever kits might go unused

The vast majority of Manchester City fans will agree that the Blues' current kits are the best they've had for years.

The strips Puma has designed since replacing Nike as City's kit manufacturer in 2019 have been a bit hit and miss with supporters, but few can have any complaints about this season's efforts.

City's 2022/23 home kit broke sales records on release day, the classic sky blue and maroon design striking a nostalgic chord with supporters, as did the tribute to club legend Colin Bell. While the neon yellow and black 'worker bee' third kit has divided opinion, the return of a red and black striped away kit for the first time in a decade thrilled followers of the Blues.

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The design made famous by the 1969 FA Cup winners received a modern twist, the vertical stripes becoming diagonal and the club badge changed to a vibrant yellow. It's arguably the best away shirt in the Premier League this season; it's just a shame City will hardly get to wear it.

A month and a half into the season and Pep Guardiola's side are yet to wear their popular changed strip in a competitive match, it's only outing so far coming in the pre-season win against Club America in the United States.

Over five away fixtures so far this season City have worn their home kit twice and their neon strip three times. Looking at the fixture list, there don't appear to be many opportunities for them to wheel out the black and red number.

Part of the problem is the number of Premier League sides who have a predominantly red home strip. City were not able to wear red when they travelled to West Ham and Aston Villa, and they won't be able to wear it for trips to