The Australian picked up a thigh injury on international duty earlier this month and missed out on our opening day defeat to Aston Villa.
But with another week of training under her belt, Taylor revealed that she could be in line to return to the fold when we travel to Kingsmeadow for Sunday’s 16:00 (UK) kick-off.
While the boss conceded that he and his staff are keeping a close eye on the condition of other players beyond Kennedy, he insisted that there had been little change in terms of the squad’s overall shape ahead of this weekend.
Next Fixture
All fixturesFA WSL
BST
“I think we’re pretty much as we were,” Taylor explained in his pre-match press conference.
“There’s a couple of players who are being monitored closely, but nothing too different to what we had last week.
“Alanna [Kennedy] should be in a better place, she wasn’t able to make the bench last week so we think she’ll be back in contention, hopefully after another training session tomorrow.
“[But there has been] no real change from last weekend, so pretty good.
“We’ve got good options. When you have them, it gives you a bit of a selection headache, the players are probably aware that, although we didn’t get off on the right foot last week, there were some elements of our play that were quite good.”
Both sides will be desperate to claim all three points at Kingsmeadow after beginning our respective campaigns with slender away defeats.
Nonetheless, Taylor insists those setbacks are a demonstration of the increasingly competitive nature of the WSL.
Looking ahead to this weekend, the boss is expecting another tough assignment for his players, but it’s a challenge he insists the squad are relishing.
CITY+ | SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
He said: “I wasn’t surprised that Liverpool got something out of the game [against Chelsea]. We played them in pre-season and they’re a tough outfit.
“Same with Aston Villa, a completely different team from last season, lots of changes and when those players play well, anyone can beat anyone.
“[There’s] no change in that respect. For us, we know it’s going to be a really tough game, it’s their first home game but we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We’ll hopefully show a better version of ourselves without the ball this time.
“That’s been really key, and it was a bit of a surprise that we weren’t quite as effective without the ball because we know if we do that, we’ll always score goals.
“It’s one that the players are looking forward to.
“Regardless of the team we pick, we’re expecting a good level and will try to make it difficult for Chelsea on their own patch but also show our best version with the ball.”
CHELSEA V CITY
City’s next match sees us lock horns with Chelsea in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday 25 September.
Kick-off at Kingsmeadow is scheduled for 16:00 (UK), and you can keep across all the action right here on mancity.com and the official Man City app.
Our Matchday Centre gets under way at 14:30, providing minute-by-minute text commentary, statistics and analysis before, during and after the game, while you can also follow the key moments on Twitter: @ManCityWomen.
A match report, plus reaction from Gareth Taylor and players alike will be available to view soon after the final whistle.
Highlights from Kingsmeadow, as well as a CITY+ full-match replay, can be accessed from 12:00 on Monday.
