Sunderland winger Adam Johnson has expressed his excitement at returning to Manchester City for the first time since his move away from the club.
Johnson ended his two-and-a-half-year stay at the Etihad Stadium after the Mackems completed a £10 million deal for his services over the summer.
And the England international is relishing the opportunity to go up against his former employers so soon after leaving.
“It was a good win against Wigan and obviously City is a tough place to go and it’ll be nice to be involved in that,” he told the Evening Chronicle.
“I’ve never been back to an old club in my career. I had great times there, winning leagues and FA Cups. I’ll always see it as a big part of my career.
“I’m looking forward to going back and seeing a lot of old friends there.”
The Middlesbrough academy product went on to praise team-mate Steven Fletcher, who joined the Black Cats on the same day and has scored five goals in his first four appearances.
Johnson said: “Fletcher’s on fire at the moment. Whenever he gets in front of goal, you always think he’s going to score.
“That’s what he was brought here to do and he’s doing that. He’s having one of those great spells where you just know he’s going to score.
“He’s a natural scorer and that’s what he’s doing.”