Cautious approach could help tighten leaky City defence
CITY’S defensive issues are no closer to being solved after the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend, with Pep Guardiola still searching for a solution to plug holes left by Vincent Kompany’s departure and Aymeric Laporte’s injury.
With the January transfer window still over six weeks away and Laporte not expected back until 2020 Guardiola will have to continue to make do and mend with his defensive options.
That is far from an ideal scenario given City face a daunting run of fixtures between now and the start of January. After the international break Chelsea visit the Etihad, while the Blues also face Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester City and Wolves in the next few weeks.
All of those sides will want to test a defence that has been creaking recently, with just one clean sheet in the last six games for Guardiola’s side.
There appears to be no obvious solution to ease the pressure on the defence. Converted midfielder Fernandinho has been a regular at the back this season and he’s been partnered by John Stones for the last three Premier League fixtures, with Nicolas Otamendi on the bench.
While the defence haven’t been as convincing as they were last term, when Kompany and Laporte both shone, they aren’t being helped by an occasional lack of control in midfield.
Fernandinho was always going to leave big shoes to fill and while Rodri clearly has the potential to do the job long-term in defensive midfield, the fact he’s learning on the job in a Guardiola side isn’t helping at the moment.
To try and ease the pressure on his defence Guardiola could consider a change of formation and a 4-2-3-1 approach that will provide a little more cover in midfield.
While that will rob Guardiola of his preferred system of two No. 8s, he could still use Kevin De Bruyne behind a striker, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez on the flanks.
As for the two holding midfielders, pushing Fernandinho back into that role alongside Rodri could be a shortterm fix. It would mean partnering Stones and Otamendi together at the back, something Guardiola has been reluctant to do since they started in the defeat to Norwich at Carrow Road.
But giving them extra protection in the form of Fernandinho and Rodri could be a way around the fear of pairing two defenders who haven’t been at their best together.
The move could also be beneficial to Rodri, who would learn from the expertise of Fernandinho next to him, helping with his assimilation into the role in future seasons.
Moving to such a system would mean some compromise from Guardiola, easing back on his attacking instincts to provide a little more security at the back.
But at the moment it’s a case of needs must for City and they need to make sure they stay in the title race between now and Christmas.