Tactical Expectation & Observations
Manchester City
Lineups:
Pellegrini made several changes to his 4-2-3-1 lineup in the wake of their midweek UCL tie. De Bruyne was rested on the bench, with Navas his replacement, and Toure returns to the XI replacing the injured Fernando. Bony leads the line after being omitted from the false 9 setup in UCL. Behind, Mangala pairs with Otamendi and Clichy, makes his first start after the long injury hiatus with Kolarov and Demichelis on the bench. Sagna retains his spot with Zabaleta still on the treatment table.Man City Attack:
- Coming from a humbling 2-0 defeat at the Britannia last week, City was given a run for its money by a resounding performance from the visitors. Silva and co found it hard to operate their fluid attacking style with a lack of space after some commendable tactics from the Swansea caretaker manager.
- They were gifted a goal after some shoddy marking, Bony heading the goal from a Navas corner. Facing a narrow Swansea defence, the hosts found themselves limited to going around in the final third and could not utilise the pace and dribbling of Sterling, known for cutting in and making byline runs. The midfielder was substituted at half time as Pellegrini opted for more presence in the middle of the park with Delph, allowing Toure the freedom for forward runs.
- The momentum looked to shift in their favour after the introduction of De Bruyne but did not last long as the visitor’s substitutions limited the host’s midfield offensive contribution; they were stretched and forced to operate a little deeper to handle the pace of Montero and Barrow. It looked all over after Gomis scored but lady luck was shining on Toure as his shot was deflected into goal.
- City escaped with the skin of their teeth and struggled to find their rhythm this game. It could be the start of a decline in form for the powerhouse, with last gameweek’s humbling by stoke, and Pellegrini will be desperately looking towards Aguero’s fitness to turn the team’s fortunes.
Man City Defense:
- The hosts were guilty of some sloppy marking and was punished early in the game. Otamendi had some shaky moments but Fernando and Fernandinho’s presence afforded the needed clout to overwhelm the Newcastle midfield. There was little intervention needed from the defence as the game progressed, with Newcastle too preoccupied with defending to offer reasonable attacking threat.
- Managers holding to City defensive coverage should be content to hold, with a decent run of fixtures coming up.
Swansea
Lineups:
Sigurdsson operated in the hole with Cork,
Britton and Ki behind. Fernandez returns to the lineup replacing
Bartley and Curtis opted for Rangel at right back, with Naughton
benched.
Swansea Attack:
- The visitors quickly shrugged off a nervy start and looked very threatening on the counter, fashioning the better chances among the 2: Routledge missing a 1v1 early after some good goalkeeping by Hart.
- Ayew and Routledge put City’s defence to work exploiting the channels on the counter, Siggy pulling the strings with 3 key passes, almost finding the net for himself if not for a marvellous save by Hart.
- The attacking performance looked very encouraging but was far from the finished product as at times, they were let down by a lack of presence in the box to aim for. Jury’s still out on the favoured line up by the caretaker boss and I advise Managers to stay away at the moment as this false 9 formation may just be a tactical tweak to handle City.
Swansea Defense:
- Curtis adopted a tactic employed with reasonable success by teams visiting the Etihad. They defended narrow, compacting the lines to minimise channels that are commonly exploited by City’s pacey players: Sterling and Navas.
- The midfield 3 of Cork, Britton and Ki operated deeper while on the defensive, overcrowding the “hole” area, ensuring a harder time for Silva. After a nervy start, the visitors quickly put a foot down and looked comfortable neutralising City’s potent attack. However, they were ultimately let down by a moment of lapsed concentration, as Williams allowed Bony to shrug him off to head home the corner.
- The visitors did well to remain resolute, considering their recent run of results and looked solid throughout the game. Britton looked the weak leak in defence, looking exhausted with shadowing duties (Silva). De Bruyne’s introduction for Silva looked to exploit this but Curtis reacted well by introducing pace and width with Montero and Barrow.
- Curtis' final throw of the dice almost worked with Gomis scoring soon after his substitution but Swans were dealt an unlucky hand as Toure’s deflected shot floated beyond a helpless Fabianski into the net.
- Ultimately, I was very impressed with Swansea’s reaction after Monk’s removal as the side’s performance looked extremely encouraging, matching their opponents well. This could be the beginning of a revival and I advise managers to keep a close eye on them in these coming weeks considering their forgiving run of 4 home games in the next 6.
Thoughts and impressions
Man City
Most
managers were shocked to see De Bruyne benched but one could
understand Pellegrini’s initial game plan:
- He wanted to utilise pace on the flanks to support Bony’s aerial threat, with Silva supporting in the hole. Unfortunately, with Bony being contained, they lacked the necessary talent on the bench to add more presence in the box (no Dzeko nor Negredo, options in their title winning side) as Iheanacho looks more comfortable playing off a striker. Pellegrini was forced to take off Sterling, pushing Toure further forward, but the disciplined Swansea side meant a lack of penetration for that final ball.
- With their injury list and lack of alternative depth, I worry for City’s fortunes in the coming games. Aguero was clearly missed as Bony looked easier to handle compared to the Argentinian. UCL commitments are now freed up (till the next round in 2 months) and all eyes will be on the game next week at the emirates, a true test meeting another title contender away from home.
Swansea
The
tactic employed by Curtis was highly successful in stifling City’s
attacking prowess - Defending narrow has drawbacks.
- Wide areas are less defended and the team would have to contend with more crosses into the box. Initially I thought it as a risk, since Bony’s aerial ability is good, unlike the usual setup with Kun up front, so success was heavily depended on the centre backs capability of containing the Ivorian front man.
- It worked as barring that one moment of shoddy marking, Williams and co looked comfortable defending against the feared City attack. The choice of Rangel over Naughton was warranted as the Spaniard utilised his physical presence well against Sterling.
- Ultimately, it was a very good performance by a side considering their poor fortunes (only 1 win in the last 12 games). The departure of Monk spells the 3rd time Curtis steps in as caretaker and the experienced Welshman brought the necessary stability, quickly removing the pressure and lifting morale. I advise all Managers to keep a close eye on the Swans with their decent fixture list.
Fantasy Recommendations – Lead
Hold on to City assets but be prepared to sell
It
doesn’t look that good for City at the moment. They were lucky to
come away with 3 points and it may seem like their form is turning,
especially after being outplayed last week by Stoke at the Britannia.
It could all change if Aguero recovers in time, the forward is lethal
enough to change singlehandedly change games, but with 3 away matches
in the next 4, I won’t begrudge the manager getting rid of City
coverage.
Silva looks like he needs a few games to return to his
stellar pre-injury form and with Clichy now fully fit, Pellegrini
looks to be returning to his favourite habit of rotating fullbacks. I
would advise getting rid of City coverage at this juncture once
alternatives appear with Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool yet to play
this game week.
Fantasy Recommendations – Watchlist
Sigurdsson
Sigurdsson
had a wonderful game, the midfielder managing 5 attempts at goal (4
on target) and 3 key passes and could see him return to the
mid-priced FPL darling we all came to love in the past seasons. He
falls just a little short of a “Chaser” recommendation due to the
new manager possibly employing tactical tweaks, possibly affecting
his FPL point throughput.
Regardless, he is likely a mainstay in any
formation employed by Curtis and represents a very attractive option
with Swansea’s fixtures (WHM WBA SUN WAT the 4 home games in the
next 6).
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