Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is in an unfamiliar territory at the moment, with his team failing to register a single win in its last six matches across all competitions. The way they threw away a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League to split points with the Dutch side in the end, was quite disappointing.
The Cityzens have a monumental clash coming up with Liverpool on December 1, losing which will push them further down in the reckoning to win their fifth Premier League title in a row. Defensive frailties and inability to complement Erling Haaland upfront are the two genuine problems they are facing at the moment.
Should Manchester City switch to a 3-5-2?
One should not hesitate to admit the fact that Manchester City will start as the underdogs against Liverpool next Sunday. Guardiola has never made any of his teams coached by him start with a 3-5-2, but this is probably the time to go with it.
The benefit that the Cityzens will derive out of the formation is having a solid back-three of Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Nathan Aké with Kyle Walker and Joško Gvardiol playing as wing-backs. It will give both Gvardiol and Walker more freedom to go into overlaps and deliver crosses into the box.
More importantly, it will also mean that they will not have to worry about tracking back in time to take care of Liverpool’s counter-attacks. Both Walker and Gvardiol have struggled to contain the speedy runs from counter-attacks of various oppositions in the recent past. Both the Liverpool wingers Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz, are very fast and hence, having a dedicated back-three behind the wing-backs should give the English Champions more solidity and numerical advantage in the defensive third.
Also, having Foden alongside Haaland will mean that the latter will not be isolated inside the opposition penalty box against the two towering centre-backs of Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. Foden has failed to perform well on the right flank as well as in the centre of the pitch this season. Putting him alongside Haaland might help the 24-year-old Englishman regain his scoring touch.
Walker is capable of playing crosses frequently and Gvardiol has improved a great deal as far his offensive qualities are concerned. Hence, relying on them in terms of their overlaps and crossing should not disappoint Guardiola.
Midfield battle will be crucial as well:
Should he opt for a 3-5-2, Guardiola can then have Ilkay Gundogan, who, with other Manchester City veterans in poor form, put in a much-improved showing against Feyenoord, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes or Kevin de Bruyne as the three men in the City midfield depending upon the Belgian’s availability. Liverpool’s three-man midfield will consist of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, which is quite a formidable one.
Playing with this formation will mean that the Cityzens will not be starting any of their wingers. However, given the poor recent form of the likes of Jack Grealish, Savinho or Foden, it seems that they should go for a fresh approach against the Reds. They have looked really brittle in their defence and vulnerable against counter-attacks, which is something Guardiola should look to change. It remains to be seen whether he goes for a new approach in the pivotal clash on Sunday.