Manchester City are back in Women’s Champions League action on Wednesday evening as they take on St Polten in Vienna.

Gareth Taylor’s side recorded a statement victory on Matchday 1 of the group stage last week, comfortably beating back-to-back champions Barcelona 2-0 in Manchester.

They were almost caught cold at Anfield in the WSL on Sunday, but a Bunny Shaw brace ensured the Cityzens backed up last Wednesday’s win with another domestic triumph.

City are now facing the nine-time Austrian Frauenliga champions who were beaten 2-0 by Swedish side Hammarby on Matchday 1. St Polten have once again assumed domestic dominance at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, but they’ve had to slog their way into the group stage of this competition.

The Austrian outfit bypassed three qualifying rounds which saw them face teams from Azerbaijan, Albania and Slovenia. They haven’t reached the UWCL knockout rounds since 2021.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Man City’s upcoming UWCL clash.

St Polten vs Man City H2H Record (All Games)

Current form (all competitions)

The hosts aren’t exactly depleted heading into Wednesday’s game, but they’re once again without Ella Touon (not to be confused with the Lioness) due to a knee injury.

Manager Celia Brancao could shuffle her pack from the weekend’s domestic triumph, so we may see Sophie Hillebrand and Sarah Mattner-Trembleau return to the St Polten XI along with Tea Vracevic.

St Polten predicted lineup vs Man City (4-3-3): Schluter; Krizaj, Vracevic, Klein, Wenger; Mikolajova, Hillebrand, Dubcova; Madl, Mattner-Trembleau, Pekel.

Naomi Layzell was superb in last week’s victory over Barcelona, but she picked up a knock in the latter stages of that game and missed Sunday’s win at Anfield as a result. She’s unlikely to return to action in Vienna.

Vivianne Miedema was also absent at the weekend and is a a doubt for Wednesday’s game. The Dutch international will be assessed before City fly out.

Risa Shimizu and Sandy MacIver are out for the long haul with ACL injuries.

Man City predicted lineup vs St Polten (4-3-3): Yamashita; Casparij, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Park, Hasegawa, Roord; Fowler, Shaw, Hemp.

City almost succumbed to a post-Barcelona hangover on Sunday, but the manner of their victory on Matchday 1 was ever so impressive and a signal of their intent. They believe they’re the best team in the world.

City’s aggressive pressing was key to their success last week, and it’s hard to envisage an inferior St Polten side coping well with the visitors’ work without the ball. The hosts have to be respected given just how dominant they’ve been in Austria over the past decade, but Taylor’s side should not have many issues bypassing them on Wednesday.

Prediction: St Polten 0-3 Man City

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