Manchester City Women's boss Gareth Taylor has urged his players to relish the pressure of their favourite status ahead of a Continental League Cup quarter-final clash with Bristol City.
Holders City are expected to get past their Championship opponents, but Taylor has insisted that it won't be an easy task. Bristol City sit second in the second tier having only lost once all season and will have home advantage at Ashton Gate.
The Vixens were beaten by Taylor 's side at the same stage of the competition last season, with Man City eventually lifting the trophy after a 3-1 win against Chelsea in the final. But the Citizens manager is expecting a tough test in the West Country and says his players must relish their tag as favourites.
"I think you have to enjoy that pressure that comes with it and the expectation levels of playing for Manchester City," said Taylor. "We’re not daft, we know that on any given day there can be upsets.
"We don’t want that to be us, we want to make sure we get everything right in our approach and performance. Again, that gives us better chances of being successful.
“We played them (Bristol) last season in the Conti Cup at the same stage. They’re a team who are knocking on the door of the Championship and unfortunately fell out in that season from the top flight.
“We’re expecting it to be a good occasion, one we’re looking forward to and we want to progress in the competition we won last season.”
The WSL title contenders are unbeaten in all competitions since September, a run now standing at 13 matches. However, a 1-1 home draw with Aston Villa saw them lose ground in the race at the top of the league last weekend, with local rivals Man United taking advantage by beating Reading.
With a top three finish far from certain, City need strong runs in both domestic cups to ensure a positive season. They also face Championship opposition in the FA Women's Cup later this week when hosting Sheffield United.
Taylor also gave a fitness update on Esme Morgan, with the defender withdrawn at half-time during the draw with Villa.
"We need to monitor her over the next 24 hours but she (Morgan) didn't train today," Taylor added. "At this moment in time she is a doubt which is unfortunate because she is an important player.
"We have to assess her and see if she can make the trip to Bristol (City). Demi (Stokes) is also improving but this game might be a little bit too soon for her. Outside of that everyone is available and has trained."
Regardless of the level of opposition or the competition City are playing in, Taylor is looking for a reaction from the group to Saturday's disappointing draw with Villa in the WSL.
"I always look at the performance first," said Taylor. "And that was the disappointing part for me. We just didn't play our game and were a little bit slow, a little bit flat at times.
"But we were playing against a decent Villa team who are completely different in terms of personnel. A draw was probably a fair result because we knew we let ourselves down a bit on the performance.
"That is frustrating for all of us. But we have had good honest conversations about areas we can improve upon."
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