There is a difficult run of fixtures for Manchester City over the next couple of weeks as they juggle both Barclays FA Women’s Super League and UEFA Women’s Champions League commitments.
Wednesday sees City begin their UEFA Women’s Champions League adventure as they travel to Sweden to face Damallsvenskan champions Goteborg in their round of 32 first leg tie.
When speaking in the club’s pre-match press conference, in which FA Women’s Super League Full-Time were present, City’s head coach Gareth Taylor admitted that Goteborg will be tough opponents.
“I think it was the toughest draw we probably could’ve got out of the teams that were available” said Taylor. “That’s what you want and that’s what you get sometimes.
“To go on and do well in this competition you’ve got to beat decent teams.”
The UEFA Women’s Champions League is a competition that City have struggled in over the last couple of years, having been knocked out by Atletico Madrid in the rounds of 16 and 32 in the last two seasons. Given the calendar in Sweden, Goteborg haven’t played a competitive fixture for a month and Taylor believes that could give his side an edge.
He added “We certainly take confidence from that. It wouldn’t be ideal for us not playing for a month and losing a couple of players.
“Again, I still expect it to be a really tough game. It’s on their patch, it’s on their surface that they’re used to so things won’t be easy for us, but I’m really excited about it and looking forward to seeing how we do.”
The surface will certainly play a factor as, given the adverse weather conditions in Sweden, the Valhalla IP stadium has an artificial pitch which could throw up issues for Taylor and his players.
When speaking about the pitch, the City head coach said “It’s difficult. We can’t control playing on a plastic pitch, we’ve done it previously this season but that brings up it’s own issues for certain players and hopefully everyone comes through unscathed.
“One thing you will see is a truer surface. You’ll get a truer pass, so hopefully we don’t get too many bobbles.
“It’ll be interesting to see what it’s like when we actually train there, I think it helps us.
“We’ve got good technical players who can play quickly so hopefully that’s going to help us on a quick pitch.”
There has been a very quick turnaround for Taylor and his team since players returned from the international break and with the added fixture congestion, it has meant there has been minimal time for preparation. Yet Taylor sees the condensed schedule as a positive.
He said “I love it to be honest but I haven’t got to play in those games.
“I love it from a coaching perspective and I’m pretty certain the players would prefer more games rather than not enough.
“When you haven’t got a game then there’s an international break and your next game is a week away, I’d certainly prefer this way at this moment in time.
“Barring a couple of knocks here and there, we’ve got a squad to cope with that.”
Despite the strain that the fixture schedule will undoubtedly put on a squad, there remains optimism within the City camp that they have enough depth to cope with anything that comes their way. We still await the confirmation on the extent of the injury sustained by Rose Lavelle at the weekend, however, Taylor is buoyed by the return of winger Lauren Hemp, although he is reluctant to overwork the youngster just yet.
“We need to manage Lauren Hemp I think in the right way” Taylor explained. “It’s great to have her back first and foremost.
“To expect her to be involved in these next four games as we see it in the next 13-14 days, is going a bit too much.
“We have made a decision on what it looks like for Lauren in the next four games.”
Even whilst managing the workload of key players, one would imagine given the tournament experience of City’s reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s Champions League winners they’ll have enough to overcome their Swedish opponents. The real test is to do that in conjunction with their key Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Arsenal and their away trip to a rejuvenated Birmingham City side within the next fortnight. Having already overcome Arsenal once this season, this period could be a real opportunity for Taylor and his side to kickstart their season after a stuttering opening thus far.
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