City travel to Vienna later today for our second match in this year’s Champions League, kicking off at 17:45 (UK) on Wednesday 16 October.
After an unbeaten start to the new season across all competitions and a 2-0 victory over reigning European champions Barcelona last week to begin our group stage campaign, Taylor’s team are full of confidence.
St Polten come into the game on the back of a defeat to Swedish side Hammarby in their opener but Taylor has refuted suggestions that the encounter will be an easy one for City.
Taylor on team news ahead of St Polten match
“People probably see it as a game that is won before it is played but I don’t at all,” he stated in Tuesday morning’s pre-match press conference.
“They were in the game for large parts against Hammarby and at 1-0 that game could easily have been drawn.
“They like to come out and engage and if they do that we will need to be smart with the ball to work it into the spaces they will leave.
“The players are really smart and adapt to situations like with Liverpool, we work all week against back four and they play back five. The players quickly adapt and work out smartly where the spaces were.
“They could go more defensively by sitting players behind the ball similar to Liverpool or they will come out and press and they certainly did that in moments against Hammarby.
“It’s something that we need to be prepared for. Both are really interesting because they mean different things for us in terms of the way we build.
“It’s a big game for us and an opportunity to build on a great moment last week.”
Watch the press conference in full above…
St Polten v City: Man City App coverage
As always, the official Man City app will provide comprehensive coverage before, during and after the action in Austria.
Our Matchday Centre, providing detailed text updates, stats and analysis will be available to follow from 16:15, carrying on throughout the game and including the best post-match reaction.
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Those with push notifications turned on will be alerted to all the key moments as they unfold, with live audio commentary from Ali Mann also available to guide you through the action.
A detailed match report and interviews with Gareth Taylor and players alike can be accessed soon after the final whistle.
Highlights from the game plus a CITY+ full-match replay, meanwhile, will be available from 23:00 (UK) on Thursday 17 October.
