SKN are hoping for a 'dream day' against Man City

The England runners-up and current league leaders will compete at Vienna's Generali Arena with a star cast and plenty of self-confidence. Above all, the 2-0 win over defending champions Barcelona last Wednesday gave the club plenty of momentum and generated buzz.

Defender Naomi Liesel and City's all-time top scorer Khadija Shaw dealt the final blow to Aitana Bonmati and her teammates. Shaw in particular needs to be tackled in substitute roles in Vienna; The 27-year-old Jamaican striker has scored 77 goals in 89 official matches. “She is special, for me one of the best strikers in all of Europe. But if you spend too much time on her, you forget about others who are also a big danger,” said St. Pölten coach Lise Branco.

With Lauren Hemp, Vivienne Miedema, Chloe Kelly, Mary Fowler and Jill Roord, Man City have other talents who can provide an attacking spotlight. Hard work awaited the defense of the Lower Austrians. Brancao still does not want to describe winning a point against “one of the top five teams in Europe” as a miracle. But she also realizes that this seems so far away. The Brazilian said: “It is possible that we have the day of our dreams and the opponent has a very bad day.”

“I definitely want to upset them

Your team needs “a lot of courage and tactical discipline.” It is important to find a “good mix” between closing down defensively and attacking high. “We have our plans. Respect is good, fear will be too much. We also know the level we are currently playing at. We definitely want to upset them,” said Brancao. Of 13 competitive matches this season, St. Pölten have lost only one to Swedish champions Hammarby Otherwise, there was only a 0-0 win in the league match at Bergheim. Manchester City has only seven competitive matches under its belt and only failed to win the opening league match with a score of 2-2 over Arsenal.

“People might see it as a game that's already been won before it starts, but I don't see that at all,” coach Gareth Taylor said. The 51-year-old warned that St Pölten had been in the game against Hammarby for too long and could have equalised. He expressed his hope to follow the “wonderful moment” against Barcelona. The 2-1 league win over Liverpool also increased the level of self-confidence. “If we play as hard as we did at the weekend, we should win, but you can't underestimate anyone in the Champions League,” Rohr said.

It is not clear whether the English women will compete with the best lineup. “Maybe they are not playing perfectly, but their team is good enough to be very strong for the second team,” Branco said. It is only missing ailing defender Leonarda Balog. The home team spends the night in Vienna in order to prepare optimally after the final training session on Tuesday. “It is very unfortunate that we are not playing at home,” Branco said. The two teams met in the round of 16 in October 2017 in the “first division”, which was held at that time without the group stage. The English won both matches 3-0.