What Formation Should Manchester City Line-up In Next Season?

Manuel Pellegrini will have his task cut out next season

Manchester City made a strong finish to their trophy-less 2014/15 season, winning their final six games in the Barclays Premier League and comfortably finishing in 2nd place, ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United, who looked likely to finish above them at one stage during the campaign.

Manuel Pellegrini deployed his side in the 4-2-3-1 system for the final seven league fixtures, including the 2-4 derby defeat at Old Trafford, and the results were there to be seen.

It wasn't a major innovation from 'the Engineer', who, during his reign at the Etihad Stadium, has been continually castigated for his inclination to playing the 4-4-2 formation, one which saw the 2013/14 English champions score a whopping 156 goals across all competitions.

Pellegrini's decision was also forced, in many ways, due to Edin Dzeko's poor form and disillusioned exterior; Wilfried Bony, the new recruit from Swansea City, suffered ankle and knee injuries during the latter stages of the campaign, making the manager's decision all the more straightforward.

Looking ahead to next season, what sort of a system can Pellegrini deploy his side in? The Chilean is a firm believer in his methods, though some would argue that his dogmatism is uncalled for, with City vying for domestic and continental honors.

When the Etihad outfit brought in the likes of Eliaquim Mangala, Fernando Reges, Frank Lampard and Bacary Sagna, who were the outfield players to sign for the then defending champions, last summer, their system didn't need tweaking.

The addition of the aforementioned quartet to the City squad meant that their midfield and rearguard were not only strengthened, but could also be rotated - which is exactly what Pellegrini did for a majority of their campaign.

This summer, the club seems motivated to sign a world class player, with Paul Pogba and Kevin de Bruyne topping the coveted list of players.

The question, therefore, is whether the new additions will force Pellegrini to tinker with his playing system? And, if so, what formation could the Sky Blues line-up in next season, in the UEFA Champions League and domestic competitions?

Read on...

A lot has been said about the way City have lined-up over the last two seasons, with particular emphasis placed on getting outnumbered in midfield whenever Pellegrini's side has played in the 4-4-2 formation.

However, not many have been aware of the notion that it is the players who make the system work, and not the other way around.

Let us take the 4-2-3-1, or 4-4-1-1, formation for instance: usually, David Silva plays as the No.10 and Sergio Aguero, the club's No.1 striker, plays up top. Now, when City are out of possession, Silva remains high up the pitch along with Aguero, and their team drops into two banks of four.

Average positions of City players in a 4-4-2, when out of possession

Therefore, 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 is hardly any different from a 4-4-2 formation, especially without possession of the ball.

When in possession, it is fundamental that City work as a team and do everything possible to find the back of the net, leaving the two central defenders along with Fernandinho, the No.4 or midfield pivot, to do the bulk of the defensive work when a turnover in possession occurs.

Talking of next season, Pellegrini might have to play a different formation if either Pogba or de Bruyne joins up with the existent City squad.

The Cityzens already have three midfielders - Toure, Fernandinho and Fernando - at their disposal, and only two of them can play in the 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 systems.

De Bruyne, though, is versatile and could be deployed in at least 2 or 3 positions, making it possible for City to continue lining up in the aforementioned systems, with the Belgian and Silva presumably forming a good partnership in the attacking-third with Aguero.

City lining up in the 4-3-3 system is not out of the question, if Txiki Begiristain and co. bring in the players who are reported to be interesting them.

De Bruyne will give Pellegrini many tactical options to choose from

Such a formation will make profound changes to City's engine room, which could then have one of the two Brazilian midfielders playing as a solitary pivot behind Toure and, possibly, one amongst de Bruyne and Silva partnering the Ivorian in that advanced midfield position.

Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri, you would think, will flank Aguero in the final-third.

The 4-3-3 formation will give City a lot more potency when attacking, while also giving them better defensive solidity than what they enjoy in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2.

The notion, however, remains the same: each player has to play his role well, in order to make the system work.

Final Thought

It remains to be seen what City do with Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic, and whether the duo is shown the door when the Transfer Window opens in July.

However, regardless of what happens to the aforementioned duo, or even one among them, don't be surprised if Pellegrini sticks with the 4-4-2 system in the Premier League and cup competitions.

In Europe, City could lineup in the 4-3-3 formation, that is if they bring in more central midfielders.

City, simply put, defended flimsily last season

Finally, City's defensive struggles last season were not due to the formation they played in, but because of the defenders' - Vincent Kompany and Mangala, in particular - poor form throughout the campaign, which led to their side conceding some really cheap goals against considerably lesser opposition.

Barclays Premier League: Five Things We Learned From Manchester City's Victory Against Swansea City

Yaya Toure's brace was pivotal to City's victory yesterday

Manchester City, by way of a 4-2 victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, registered their 5th consecutive Barclays Premier League win since suffering defeat at the hands of Manchester United in April, and assured themselves of direct qualification into the group stages of next season's UEFA Champions League.

It was a brilliant game of football, that didn't have too much to choose between two attractive football teams.

But City, with a bit more firepower than the hosts, in attack, managed to outscore Gary Monk's side that played with great vigor and incision.

Yaya Toure (2), James Milner and former Swan, Wilfried Bony, got the goals for the visitors, who would have been disappointed at the way they conceded the two goals, which were scored by Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bafetimbi Gomis on either side of half-time, and let Swansea back in after leading them by 2-0 in the first 45'.

From City's perspective, they certainly would be cock-a-hoop because of yesterday's victory that sees them finish above the Red Devils in the Premier League standings for the second consecutive season. However, in hindsight, what can they takeaway from their display against the Swans?

The home side played as they were expected to

Having accrued 56 points, which is the highest ever points tally in their history, from 36 games prior to the defeat to City, it was not unexpected of Swansea to perform the way they did and take the game to their illustrious opponents.

Montero posed plenty of problems for Zabaleta on City's right-hand-side

Out of possession, they were well organized and forced City to work hard to create openings. When they won the ball back, the Welsh side broke in unison and asked a few questions of their opponents' rearguard that found it difficult to cope with the pacey Swansea forwards - Nathan Dyer, Jefferson Montero, and Modou Barrow in the second half.

Sigurdsson's goal, which came on the stroke of half-time, was a timely one and reminded City that the game was not over by any means.

Gomis got the second goal after 20 minutes into the second half, and incidentally, it once again came at a time when City were fashioning chances of their own and close to finding what could have been a decisive 3rd goal.

Swansea, considering the way they scored the two goals and created 7 other goal scoring chances on the evening, would be bitterly disappointed at the result they managed in the end.

Lukasz Fabianski had a forgettable game, as he should have done much better for both the Toure goals and at least got a hand to Milner's goal, which came from a brilliant City counterattack.

Overall, Swansea played well and contributed to a very good game of football, which was also not unexpected prior to kickoff.

But, hopefully, this game could help them identify the areas they need to tighten up on when playing against the big boys of the Premier League and also have a look at harnessing the opportunities, like they were afforded by City last night.

City produced a 'good' away performance

There were many a moment during yesterday's game when Manuel Pellegrini's men were under the pump and had to weather a Swansea storm.

Such a scenario was particularly palpable even prior to City scoring the opener, with the likes of Montero posing defensive questions to Pablo Zabaleta and Dyer too, investigating Eliaquim Mangala's temperament as a Premier League defender.

The visitors, though, came through every one of those testing phases, first to take a 2-0 lead and then to restore their two-goal advantage after Swansea equalized.

Milner's goal came from a terrific City counterattack

I thought that Pellegrini's side played some delightful counterattacking football, with Milner's goal in particular exuding great precision and illustrating the clinical nature of City's attacking play, on a day when they created 20 goal scoring chances and attempted 22 shots on Fabianski's goal.

The Cityzens only saw 51% of the ball, which is 5% less than the amount of possession they have averaged over this season, during the 95 minutes, but never found it hard to create chances and repeatedly got behind the Ashley Williams-led backline.

Such incisive attacking performances have been few and far in between for City, who will no doubt look into improving on that aspect of their game before the next season kicks off.

City showed why they are far from becoming a force in Europe

Yesterday's game was a carbon copy of City's early season clash against Hull City at the KC Stadium where, after taking a 2-0 lead, they conceded two cheap goals to let the home side back into the game.

Against Swansea, they were probably not as dominant as against Steve Bruce's side, but no way should Monk's men have got back into it and posed fresh concerns for City.

The central defensive partnership of Martin Demichelis and Mangala didn't have a great time yesterday, and found it extremely hard to deal with Gomis' physicality and genuine aerial ability.

Mangala was probably assigned to mark the 29-year old striker, but the Frenchman was caught out of position many times and Swansea found plenty of joy in playing around the former FC Porto defender.

City's rearguard was not up to the mark against Swansea yesterday

While Mangala had a forgettable game, Demichelis didn't produce one of his best performances either, winning just 1 of his 5 attempted tackles and failed to win his solitary aerial duel.

Vincent Kompany came on for the last 15 minutes, replacing Fernandinho and going alongside Mangala, with Demichelis moving into that No.4 position.

Even the inception of the Belgian defender didn't improve City rearguard's performance on the day, which was way below par. On another day, Swansea could have won that game if not for Joe Hart, who made two jaw-dropping saves to keep the score at 2-2 before Toure put City in the lead for the second time on the day.

Defensive problems have marred what has been a disappointing season for the Sky Blues, who once again relinquished a two-goal lead yesterday, before redeeming themselves and eventually going onto win the game.

Their attacking play was coruscating for a best part of 95 minutes, but defensively, against a pacey Swansea outfit, they were far from convincing, which explains why they have vast improvements to make in order to become a force in Europe.

It was a team effort from Pellegrini's side

This was one of the stark aspects of City's performance against Swansea yesterday: at least 60% of the players who played yesterday, put in satisfying displays. 

Toure had a brilliant game and was mighty pivotal to City's victory against the Swans. He scored 2 goals that gave his side the lead on both the occasions, while completing 87% of his passes and all three attempted take-ons: complete midfielder's display, that. 

Aleksandar Kolarov continued his rich vein of form with another solid display at left-back, where he had his task cut out against the fleet-footed Swansea wingers - Dyer and Barrow. 

The Serbian won 3 of his 6 attempted tackles and 3 of the 5 aerial duels he was involved in, while also making 2 interceptions and 4 clearances, to vindicate the defensive solidity he rendered yesterday. In an attacking sense too, he played to profile: delivering well from corner-kick situations, from which he created two goal scoring chances, and in general provided great attacking impetus to the visitors. 

Silva and Milner were prolific as a partnership for their side

Likewise, Milner was great to watch, as his understanding with David Silva led to City creating many chances from the left-hand-side once Navas replaced Frank Lampard, and the man from Yorkshire moved into a No.10 position. On the evening, Milner created 6 goal scoring chances; completed all (4) his attempted take-ons and scored a goal, to cap off a comprehensive performance. 

Hart made 7 saves overall; Sergio Aguero made the assist for Milner's goal; Silva registered two assists and completed 5 of his 7 attempted take-ons; Bony, as aforementioned, scored a goal against his old club, in the 10 minutes he got to play in for his new one. 

Therefore, it was a team effort from City who totally deserved the result they managed yesterday.  

City's good run of form carried them through

There were moments during yesterday's game when City could have crumbled under the pressure exerted on them by Swansea. They, however, kept going and managed to pull off the desired result in the end.

The players looked confident whenever City were in possession, and there was fluidity to most City attacks against Monk's side. 

City will be cock-a-hoop by the result they managed at the Liberty Stadium

Aguero led the line well, even though he didn't produce a good performance on his own, and the Milner-Silva duo was absolutely fabulous to watch.  

Even after Swansea attained parity, you never thought that City were going to get agitated and fail to create any more chances; that belief, I think, is a result of the winning run Pellegrini's side has been in since the Manchester derby defeat, and also the boost they would have garnered from the manner of their victory against Aston Villa at the Etihad three weeks ago. 

Final Thought

Pellegrini will be delighted by the result, but should investigate City's frailties

Poor defending and letting a 2-goal lead slip, again, probably will take a bit of the sheen off City's victory against Swansea. 

But take no credit away from City for the way they attacked Fabianski's goal and created as many chances as they did, playing away from home. 

Let us also not forget the contribution of Hart to the victory, which would definitely have not been possible without those two massive saves the England No.1 pulled off after Kompany replaced Fernandinho.

Pellegrini will be one happy man, and inching to finish the season with a win against Southampton at home. 

Barclays Premier League: Five Things We Learned From Manchester City's Victory Over Queens Park Rangers

It was a comprehensive City performance against QPR

Manchester City were in ruthless mode against Queens Park Rangers (QPR), putting six goals past Robert Green to register their fourth consecutive victory since their last Barclays Premier League defeat.

The hosts were clinical in everything they did last night, but were greatly helped by the sloppiness of a Rangers side that played like it had accepted relegation even before Mike Dean blew his whistle for kickoff.

Manuel Pellegrini struck with the same starting XI that played with great spunk to win against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane 8 days ago, and his personnel responded well to the situation.

Sergio Aguero, a player who is almost a certainty now to win the Premier League Golden Boot for this season, opened the scoring after just four minutes into the game and followed it up with two more goals in the second half, to complete his third hat-trick of the season.

Aleksandar Kolarov, David Silva and James Milner scored the three other goals to hand the Londoners a humiliating defeat on their way into the Football League Championship next season.

The atmosphere inside the Etihad Stadium was rather muted, which, however, was not unexpected given that the home side was not fighting for any honors as such, but the players kept running about and made sure their performance levels didn't dwindle because of the partisan crowd that turned up to watch them.

We got to learn a few things from a comprehensive City performance, and here are they.

City players' energy levels were so invigorating to see

City played with verve and panache

Ahead of the game, there were question marks over the mentality of the City players, and whether they would turn up for a game such as yesterday's.

Over the last 3-4 seasons, we have seen City, as a unit, not turn up or be a little lethargic in their approach to these kinds of games, but there were no traces of complacency from each one of the City player who played last night.

In fact, it was so good to see City players fighting for every ball, tackle hard and play as a unit while attacking or defending. It was as though Pellegrini's men challenged themselves to be a better side, irrespective of how the visitors performed.

Overall, City attempted an impressive 34 tackles, made 22 interceptions and 34 clearances, which is a testament to their work-rate and commitment last night. And it was one of the marquee aspects of City's victory over QPR.

Shambolic QPR allowed certain City players to gain some confidence

There has been no doubt that certain personnel in the City camp have struggled for form over the course of this season, which has had an inhibiting effect on their team as a whole.

QPR didn't bother to take the game to the home side

The likes of Eliaquim Mangala, Fernando Reges and Kolarov would have expected better performances of themselves before the season began.

Yes, you could argue that Mangala and Fernando have come into a new league and taken time to settle down, but let us not forget that they showed great potential during their times at FC Porto, which captured the attention of Txiki Begiristain who subsequently brought them to the Etihad.

But the duo's performances have not been up to the expected standard and the confidence levels have surely been low for much of this season.

Same applies to the Serbian, who performed very well in Pellegrini's first season in-charge of the club. But he has also struggled for form, suffered a calf injury prior to the first Manchester derby of the season, and only over the last month has he been able to get a run of games in the side.

The aforementioned trio performed well against Spurs, too, but yesterday's game against the Rangers was a terrific opportunity to build more confidence and regain their form, even though the season is nearing its end.

Yesterday's outing against a disillusioned QPR would have allowed the trio of Fernando, Mangala and Kolarov to reflect on themselves and the mistakes they have committed at various stages during this campaign.

City played with great rhythm and precision

By way of scoring six goals yesterday, City took their tally to 77 goals in the Premier League this season.

However, how often have we, this season, seen the Citizens play the brand of football they did yesterday? Not in many games, for sure.

Yes, QPR's ineptitude allowed the hosts to play the game at their own pace, which they did with great aplomb, but it was definitely an attractive performance filled with some magical moments.

Silva was at the heart of most City moves

Silva, as is often the case, was at the heart of most City attacks, taking up positions in the center of the field and orchestrating the proceedings for his side. The Spaniard created 5 chances altogether, in addition to completing 3 of 5 attempted take-ons and 87% of his passes, and finally capped off his performance with a calmly taken goal.

The likes of Fernandinho and Frank Lampard were also in very good form, combining very well with Silva and doing their bit to not affect City's attacking rhythm that we haven't seen for much of this season.

Wilfried Bony, with his assist for Silva's goal and second key pass for Milner's goal from a corner delivered by Kolarov, also put in an eye-catching performance as a substitute.

It will definitely rank as one of City's best performances, at least in an attacking sense, of the season.

It was a team performance, for sure

You can point to Aguero's hat-trick and Silva's all-round display, as the highlights of City's win over QPR.

Every City player chipped in with a good performance

But, in hindsight, it was a comprehensive City performance that had every player putting his hand up and playing his role to perfection: Joe Hart was flawless whenever he was called into action; Martin Demichelis and Mangala put in another good defensive performance; Pablo Zabaleta and Milner were dogged in their efforts at right-back and right-attacking-midfield, respectively; Kolarov, Fernandinho and Silva combined very well down the City left-hand-side; Lampard did his bit as a No.10, and we already have noted the classic Aguero.

Yesterday's performance might well have arrived at an inconsequential stage of the season, but very few sides can cope with City when they play like they did yesterday.

We cannot read too much into it, even though it was a top drawer performance

The headline says it all, really.

Pellegrini will be happy, but know it is all about next season

Coming to the end of the season, with no silverware to fight for, it was good to see City players and Pellegrini motivate themselves and produce the kind of performance they did against Chris Ramsey's side.

However, the calibre of the City's opponents meant that the home side wasn't pushed or tested to their limits, which cannot be an ideal scenario to learn about yourself.

Also, with the season about to end, City getting into form cannot be significant. Can it?

Final Thought

Yesterday's victory, and Liverpool's draw with Chelsea, assured City of a place in next season's UEFA Champions League, though they are still in need of two more points from their remaining two games in order to finish 2nd or 3rd on the table.

Pellegrini and his troops would be satisfied with their performance last night and fettle they are in, going into two attractive fixtures against Swansea City (away) and Southampton (home) that will pull the curtains on the season.

On the downside, it is a shame that such a beautiful performance has arrived so late on in the season, when City, barring a place in the Champions League, do not have much to play for.