Ex-Salford City winger, Jon Taylor, says his former clubs FA Cup fourth round tie could be “a lot closer” when they play Manchester City on Valentines Day.
Karl Robinson’s side are set to make their fourth-round debut at the Etihad against Pep Guardiola in the Emirates FA Cup.
The tie is a repeat of Salford’s third round matchup last season which saw them lose 8-0 to Manchester City just over a year ago.
Taylor said: “Karl’s had more time to work with the group, they’ve been together longer now. The lads are doing well so far this season in the league.
“Someone like Kelly N’Mai gets to play under Karl and how good he is, I think he can obviously do something really good there.”
Salford have improved significantly since the sides last met, making some major signings in both the summer and January transfer windows bringing in 19 new players.
Players such as Daniel Udoh coming in from Wycombe Wanderers and Fabio Borini signing on a free have brought necessary experience to the squad.
Salford also invested in young talent, Kallum Cesay was bought from Wealdstone in the summer alongside Matty Young who returned for a second loan spell from Sunderland.
January also saw the loan signings of Alfie Dorrington from Tottenham Hotspur and Princewill Ehibhatiomhan from Southampton.
Manchester City’s class shone through during the sides previous meeting. Salford only managed 38% possession in the match and, while creating some opportunities, it was clear that the Premier League champions were levels above.
“I was up against Nico O’Reilly and Jack Grealish, I know how good Grealish is and how well he uses his body. Nico was a young lad, but you could tell he was going to go on to do well,” Taylor said.
“You just don’t realize how good they actually are. You can’t get near them at all they’re so good, every single one, so comfortable on the ball, they trust each other. Technically there all very good, but they’re also very fast and strong as well.”
Manchester City have not been on their stella form of previous seasons having taken some shock defeats to FK Bodø/Glimt and drawing to 16th placed Tottenham, they haven’t been as ruthless as Manchester City have been in the past.
It is likely that Pep may rotate his Manchester City side having played Fulham four days prior and have a big game against Newcastle the weekend after.
The depth that Manchester City have shouldn’t weaken the side too much however it may open the door for the magic of the FA Cup to creep into the fixture.
Salford’s expectations going into the previous match were not high, however the players were surprised by the severity of the defeat.
“Karl set us up to win the game of football, to go and play the usual way. He wouldn’t have expected the big score line,” Taylor said.
Salford did manage to create some chances against Manchester City however, registering 10 shots that they were unable to convert.
Taylor said: “I had a chance towards the end and i still don’t know how Ederson saved it onto the side netting. I still can’t get my head around that.”
Salford will go into this tie with a fresh lease of life as they are having a much-improved league campaign so far this season.
Salford currently sit 6th in League Two, only four points off an automatic promotion spot, and have won five of their last seven matches.
They can take the experience gained from their past encounter into the FA Cup’s fourth round this year.
Taylor said: “City invited us into the changing rooms with the players so that was so nice for the managers and the players. Mainly for the younger lads to experience playing on such a big stage.
“I got Phil Foden’s shirt, they were all so nice and welcoming, which was honestly so nice.”