‘On our day, we can beat anyone’ – Liverpool boss Beard discusses Manchester City test | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Matt Beard says that this afternoon’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester City will be tough but his side are capable of beating any team on their day.

The Reds take on The Cityzens in-front of a bumper crowd at Anfield. The fixture is one of three games that Liverpool will play at their spiritual home this season.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Liverpool boss Beard acknowledged the size of the challenge facing his side but said that The Reds are capable of getting a good result.

“We are looking forward to it,” Beard said. “It’s going to be a tough game, I thought they were excellent against Barcelona in the week.

“We know where we are, we’ve beaten Manchester City before and they’ve beaten us. We know it’s going to be a tough game, they’ve really improved their side this summer.

“On our day, we can beat anyone and we’ve proved that since we’ve been back in the Super League. We will concentrate on ourselves going into the game and hopefully, that’s enough.”

Liverpool have increased the number of games to be played at Anfield this season but Beard says that his side will need to adapt to the somewhat unfamilar surroundings with home matches usually being played in St Helens.

He said “Yeah, of course it is [a factor], it’s not where we normally play. It does make a difference but the more times you play there, the more it becomes familiar.

“We love playing there, it’s the home of Liverpool Football Club, so we are looking forward to it.”

Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw netted five goals against Liverpool in last season’s Barclays Women’s Super League. Beard is well-aware of her threat but says that Liverpool need to manage the whole of the Manchester City front-line.

He said “I just don’t think you can single her out; if you look at their front-three, they’re fantastic. Lauren Hemp, Aoba Fujino is world-class; she was someone that we were looking at as well but we just couldn’t get there.

“They’re a fantastic side from one to 11. The depth that they’ve got on the bench; if you look at Chloe Kelly, she can’t get a game at the moment for example.

“Yes, we know that she’s a good player, yes, we make sure that we don’t give her opportunities but it’s not just us, she’s a fantastic player, a fantastic goalscorer and we’ve just got to make sure we stop the ball getting there.”

Liverpool’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester City kicks-off at 3pm. Tickets remain on-sale until 1pm and can be purchased by clicking here.