Manchester City won’t be neglectful of FA Cup opponents Sheffield United says Taylor | OneFootball

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·28 January 2023

Manchester City won’t be neglectful of FA Cup opponents Sheffield United says Taylor

Article image:Manchester City won’t be neglectful of FA Cup opponents Sheffield United says Taylor

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that his side won’t be neglectful of latest opponents Sheffield United.

The Cityzens face the Barclays Women’s Championship’s second-lowest ranked side in the fourth round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup at The Academy Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City will be the red-hot favourites to advance to the fifth round but head coach Taylor says that The Cityzens won’t be neglecting the quality of the opposition.


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“In terms of the level of opponent that you face, there’s always a respect from us,” Taylor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “We are always really diligent in exploring the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. With some of the teams that you play, there is not a huge difference in level between the top end of the Championship and the bottom end of the WSL.

“We need to make sure that as a team, we are prepared, focused and we are not being neglectful of the opposition. The group of players that we have are so honest and so humble in what we do that it wouldn’t be an issue for us.

“It doesn’t mean that you can’t lose these games because you go into them as a heavy favourite. Sometimes, this is why we love the FA Cup and all competitions because you do occasionally see upsets. For us, it would be very disappointing and very surprising if we neglected the opposition.”

Taylor went on to discuss what he expects from Sheffield United. The Manchester City boss believes that The Blades will look to tighten the spaces and will be committed as a unit.

He said “I think they’ll try and make it really difficult for us in our build-up play and they’ll push into a formation that’ll make it difficult to play in between the lines. If it is difficult to play in between the spaces, there is potential to be spaces in behind. If there’s no spaces in behind, can we try and commit and play us out a little bit more?

“I expect them to be really hard-working and really committed in the challenges, frustrate and try to make it as difficult as possible for us.”

Manchester City’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Sheffield United kicks-off at 1pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

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