The tactical tweaks Pep can make to bring goals
IT wasn’t the fact that City dropped points against West Brom that was the most frustrating, it was the manner of the draw.
By Pep Guardiola’s own admission, City should be winning games against promoted sides at home.
The return of Sergio Aguero in the latter stages of the West Brom draw is a boost for Guardiola’s misfiring attack, but the manager can do more than reintroduce the Argentine if he wants to see more goals in the trip to Southampton.
After two draws with the dreaded double pivot, maybe it is time for Guardiola to send a message that he wants his side to be more positive.
Against United, playing Fernandinho alongside Rodri was understandable, even if the result was an instantly forgettable goalless draw. Against West Brom, though, playing Ilkay Gundogan next to Rodri was not the kind of setup City are used to in games they have historically dominated.
Southampton have proved tougher opponents to break down in recent trips to St Mary’s, so there is every chance Guardiola will set up cautiously again. There is no reason, however, why he can’t do that while picking more attack-minded players.
With Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, Guardiola has two experienced midfielders who are tactically in tune with the defensive responsibilities required to play in his midfield trio. Guardiola’s reasoning for playing Phil Foden on the wing this season were telling as to how much defending he wants his midfielders to do. Assuming Rodri starts, as he has done in every Premier League game so far, a pairing of De Bruyne and Bernardo ahead of him would allow City to be more aggressive in attack, but also mindful of not leaving too much space for Southampton to run at the defence.
Over the course of the season, City won’t be able to deploy their previouslyhigh press tactics for 90 minutes three times a week, but setting up with a completely opposite double pivot is not the solution every time.
It tells City’s defenders that Guardiola doesn’t fully trust them, despite marked improvements this season thanks to Ruben Dias’ arrival and John Stones’ revitalisation. It also places more responsibility on his forwards, who know every chance counts. Guardiola could do worse than setting up like he wants to score more than one goal a game, with a bit more energy coming from midfield. It might make for a more open game, which carries plenty of risk, however the evidence so far shows that City won’t win the league with a double pivot, so something has to change.
Guardiola could do worse than setting up like he wants to score more than one goal a game