Gareth Taylor reveals Man City approach ahead of four-game Chelsea showdown | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor insists he and his players are only looking at their next game, despite an unprecedented sequence of four straight matches against all-conquering Chelsea.

This weekend, the Manchester club are in FA Cup quarter-final action against Aston Villa, with a place in next month’s semi-finals on the line. However, they go into Sunday’s clash on the back of a disappointing draw against West Ham in the WSL.

The Villa tie marks the beginning of a crucial few weeks for City as they are set to face rivals Chelsea in four consecutive matches across three different competitions in the space of 12 days. This unholy quirk of the calendar starts with next weekend’s League Cup final.

Despite the undoubtedly decisive nature of this month for City's season, Taylor emphasised they are not looking beyond their next game and full focus is on their meeting with Villa. "For me, I think it's really easy," he told the media in a press conference on Friday. "As a head coach, we're so focused on this [Sunday's game].

"We know what an opportunity it is for us to be in the hat for the semi-finals. We're not looking beyond this game at all.

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five matches / Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages

"Managing this week has been one of the most challenging parts of the season as we've had two tough away games on difficult surfaces, and where we've not been able to play our strongest teams [due to fitness and availability]. We had one eye on this game as being the ideal scenario where we could try to be as strong as we possibly can.

"I think, when you do that, it goes to show we're not actually focusing on the cup final next week, or the Champions League after that. For us, it's an easy one. For the players, it's making sure they're focused on the next game and the next challenge."

Although Villa are in poor form, having lost their last two games against Everton and Leicester City, while they also sit just four points clear of the relegation zone in the WSL, Taylor is not underestimating Sunday's opponent. This fixture has produced some memorable results over the years, including at this stage of the same competition in 2023 when Villa – then coached by Carla Ward – secured a narrow 2-1 win over City to reach the semi-finals.

"It's a tie where the winner takes all and progresses into the semi-finals," Taylor added. "We are completely aware of Villa's threats and we need to make sure we're focused both with and without the ball.

"Particularly when we're attacking, I think that's going to be the real moments. They've pretty much always been set up, with the pace they have up front, playing a counter-attacking game.

"We need to make sure we're smart with that and control counter-attacks. Also when we have the ball around their area, for sure."