Manchester City welcome Championship side Sheffield United to the Academy Stadium on Sunday in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup fourth round.
City have won the title three times in 2016-17 and then consecutively in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, bested by Chelsea in last year's final after a 3-2 loss.
The Blades are yet to make the final stages of the tournament, but City manager Gareth Taylor respects his second-tier opponents, saying: "With some of the teams you play, there's not a huge amount of difference in level between the kind of top end of the championship to the bottom end of the WSL. I think it's just making sure that as a team, we are prepared, we're focused. We're not being neglectful of the opposition.
“I think they will try to make it really difficult for us in our build-up play by being pushed into a formation which is going to make it difficult to play in between the lines.
“If it's difficult to play in between the spaces then this potential in the space in behind. Can we try and commit and drag players out a little bit more? But I expect the team to be really hard working and really committed in the challenges, frustrate and try to make it as difficult as possible for us.
“There's quite a final feeling about FA Cup games or League Cup games but I think in terms of the level of opponent that you face, there's always a respect from us, making sure that we're really diligent and are exploring the opponent to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie."
They are the second Championship side City have played in two consecutive games after they travelled to Ashton Gate on Wednesday to continue their League Cup campaign, walking away 6-0 winners over Bristol City.
The Blues put on a stronger performance on Wednesday than the weekend's clash with Aston Villa, which resulted in a one-all draw. They come into the game after four fixtures in close succession and Taylor is happy with the player's performance since.
He said: “Sometimes you have to wait another two or three weeks after your last game, which is frustrating [but] fortunately, we had opportunities to improve on our performance [of] just not being able to capitalise against a tough opponent in Villa.
"But three or four days later to go away at Bristol and to really dominate the way we did and score the goals that we did, it was a really convincing performance. So obviously for the players and everyone here connected with the club, it feels good, and we're looking forward to another competition and the FA Cup this weekend.”
Esme Morgan picked up a niggle against their Women’s Super League rivals and Demi Stokes is still pending a return, both are unlikely to make an appearance at the Academy Stadium at the weekend.
The visitors come into the game from a one-all league tie against Blackburn Rovers, which sees them one spot from the bottom of the Championship. They have gone seven league fixtures without a win so far this season, however, convincingly knocked third-tier Nottingham Forest out of the cup run with a 3-0 in the last round.
The last time these two teams met was in the League Cup quarter-finals in 2020 City put four past the Blades, Laura Coombs got herself on the scoresheet in the 73rd minute to add to Pauline Bremer's Hatrick.
The Vitality Women’s FA Cup clash Manchester City versus Sheffield United kicks off at 1 pm on Sunday 29th of January at the Academy Stadium.
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