Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that he is expecting a tough test against a hard-working and brave Liverpool side this weekend.
The Merseyside club are The Cityzens’ latest opponents at The Academy Stadium. Liverpool have lost their last three Barclays Women’s Super League matches but they did defeat champions Chelsea on opening day.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor said that he is expecting a tough test from The Reds.
“Matt (Beard) has got a wealth of experience, he is really knowledgable and has had success previously,” Taylor said. “He did really well in getting Liverpool back up into the WSL which is where they rightly belong as a team. They are hard-working, they are very brave with what they do so we are expecting a tough test. We played them in pre-season and have seen what they have done early on in the season (against Chelsea).
“It is a tough opponent for us but I have always brought it back to what we do. We’ve proved recently if we make sure that we look after ourselves in what we are trying to do, we will hopefully come out on the right side of a result.”
Manchester City could come up against their former defender Megan Campbell this weekend. The Republic of Ireland international is well-known for her long throws, something that Taylor’s side must be aware of.
When speaking about Campbell’s ‘weapon’, Taylor said “It changes things, certainly anywhere in the opposition half Meg becomes a bit of an asset. The players know Meg really well, she did well when she was here, she is a really good character and she has a real good weapon up her sleeve.
“It is difficult to limit throw-ins but if we can limit corners and free-kicks a little bit, it becomes a little bit easier. You know that you are going to concede throw-ins in the opposition half and sometimes we’ve got to be ready for that because it then makes you defend a little deeper than you’d like to.”
Manchester City’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Liverpool kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday. Tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.
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