Man City take on Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend and Pep Guardiola has admitted that United’s major strength lies in their forward players.
Man United have a surprisingly good result against their neighbours in recent years and most of it has been because of United’s blistering counter-attacking pace. The last time Man United went to the Etihad, they came out as 2-0 winners but Guardiola is willing to see a repeat of the same.
The Man City boss has hinted that he could plot something different in order to keep United’s pacey attackers in check on Sunday.
“It’s true we won a lot there more than here, but [there is] no specific reason [for that],” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“It’s happened, but in all the games we were proposing more [in attack] and we were punished on the counter attack, which is there strength and their quality.
“When they can run with Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Anthony] Elanga, [Marcus] Rashford, Jadon Sancho, they are unstoppable.
✨ @ManUtd's Bruno Fernandes has scored and assisted in the same #PL match 11 times, more than anyone else since his debut in February 2020#MCIMUN pic.twitter.com/y9EfI5umDQ
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 6, 2022
“They are faster, quicker and that’s why we are going to defend for the first time deeper and use the counter-attack for 90 minutes.”
Will Man City see a change in formation?
Man United have created as many as 160 chances since Ralf Rangnick took charges which is higher than any other PL side during the same time frame. United are surely improving under their interim manager and if the attackers can just find the back of the net more consistently then they will turn into a much stronger side.
Pep Guardiola very well understands the pace that Man United can show during counter-attacks so there’s a chance the Spanish manager could look for a complete change in formation.
Man City are already playing with a false nine this season so Rangnick will be making plans on how to counter that system. And this is exactly why Guardiola might throw in a total surprise and go with a 3-5-2 formation.
Pep Guardiola on Man City strategy: “The club needs a top striker and we’re gonna try in the summer”, he told @mcgrathmike. 🔵 #MCFC
“Remember. When we are not winning, you say ‘we need a striker, I’m naive. How do these guys play without a striker?’…”. pic.twitter.com/hajVfECzPM
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 5, 2022
Walker and Cancelo are full of pace so they can very well play as wing-backs and with a three-man defensive line, the home side can also play with a much higher line thereby strangling United for space in the middle of the pitch.
Pep Guardiola could also go the totally opposite direction and play with the same tactics which he uses every week but if the Man City boss has hinted at a change, we think he tweak something or the other on Sunday.
