An audacious chip from the Scot completed the scoring in spectacular fashion in the previous meeting between the two sides, as City ran out 3-0 winners at the Academy Stadium in February.
That strike followed an unstoppable 25-yard effort from Weir in September 2019, which secured a 1-0 win in the first ever professional derby in front of over 30,000 supporters at the Etihad Stadium.
And while the boss has challenged the midfielder to find the net on a more regular – and occasionally unspectacular – basis, he is confident that Weir and her teammates can step up to the plate at the Leigh Sports Village for Saturday’s 13:30pm (UK) kick-off.
“Hopefully she (Weir) can make the difference,” Taylor revealed in his pre-match press conference.
“Caroline has shown she’s more than capable for us, she’s getting in the right areas, and has been involved in some of our successes in front of goal (this season).
“I’m always challenging her to get more goals but her relationship on the left with Lauren Hemp has really grown over the last 12 months.
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“If it’s Caroline or another player to step up and make the difference, the more options the better.
“We’ve been challenging her on her positioning a lot. The goal she scored against United at the Etihad was once in a lifetime.
“We know she has the quality to connect from the edge of the box but it’s about getting her on the end of crosses too, we’re pushing her to do it.
“Sometimes it arrives, sometimes it doesn’t, it’s about her trusting it and getting on as many as possible.”
Hear the boss’ thoughts in full ahead of the Manchester derby via the video above...
