Football: £300m Spent, City’s Deadly Line Up

Pep Guardiola has been widely criticised for the big-spending trades he has made during this transfer window as he has revamped most of his team at Manchester City. It is highly unlikely that the Spaniard will care about that at the end of the season, as he looks set to deliver another major trophy.

Critics aside, the ex-Barcelona manager has done some exceptional business considering the scramble for talent that most teams have faced. He may have overpaid for one or two players but they are all of such a high calibre that you would struggle to argue with his choices. Let’s take a look at how the big spenders should line-up next season.

Given that several of the top teams ended last season playing three at the back, I suspect that Guardiola will also have a change in system. Most pundits have shared that assumption due to the signings of Kyle Walker (left) and Benjamin Mendy, two fullbacks who enjoy getting forward and dominating wide areas of the pitch.

While I don’t think Manchester City will play a flat back three, I expect Guardiola to deploy John Stones and Vincent Kompany as his two centre-backs with a holding midfielder, most likely Fernandinho, dropping in between them when City has the ball. It is a tactic he used at Barcelona utilising Sergio Busquets as the middle man of a back three when his side had the ball, allowing the fullbacks to push forward and create two-on-one situations in crossing positions.

Options everywhere

Another option I think he will use, especially when behind in a game, is a 4-3-3 with his front three playing narrowly to again allow the full backs to play as wingbacks and provide width. In this system, the two centre-backs will be left with a tougher job to do as they will essentially be the only two players actually defending. That was something he tried at Barcelona with Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol.

Apart from choosing formations, Guardiola will have the tough task of picking who plays where. It has been well documented that he has enough players to field two top quality teams so he is going to have a selection headache this season. The one position where the Spanish manager will have zero issues is in goal.

Despite spending £16m last summer on Claudio Bravo, the Chilean has been a major flop and the £35m arrival of Ederson will see Bravo step down as the club’s number one goalkeeper.

The defence almost picks itself with new big-money signings Walker and Mendy either side of the second-most expensive defender in the world, John Stones and City’s rock at the back, Vincent Kompany although his injury problems may mean Nicolas Otamendi gets some game time.

What a bench!

The trickiest area of the pitch, where the Sky Blues have the most options, is midfield. The 46-year-old manager will more than likely play two holding midfielders.

One will definitely be Fernandinho due to the versatility he provides and alongside the Brazilian will probably be David Silva, who is likely to play a less offensive role this campaign in an attempt to accommodate other players.

The main man up front will be a real battle between Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. Guardiola has a lot of trust in Jesus but Aguero’s experience in the Premier League may give him the advantage. The three in behind him will feature Leroy Sane, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in a flexible attacking trio.

The frightening thing about that Manchester City line-up is that it doesn’t feature Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure, Ilkay Gundogan, Samir Nasri or Danilo, who would all challenge for a starting place in every other Premier League team.

 

by Nubaid Haroon

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