The Transfer Window:
City’s transfer window was a relatively quite one compared to previous seasons, but that was only until a few days ago! Manuel Pellegrini decided that enough is enough, and they ended up buying Eliaquim Mangala from Porto for £32m! In fact, this season, Pellegrini has tried to clear out deadwood as Jack Rodwell, Gareth Barry, Costel Pantilimon and Joleon Lescott have left the club. Argentinian shot-stopper Willy Caballero was signed as back up to Joe Hart, but it seems that he is up for more than that as he was the 1st Choice in the Community Shield game.
Brazilian midfielder Fernando was signed from Porto, a move that all but ends Javi Garcia’s spell at City. Bacary Sagna will provide stiff competition to Micah Richards and Pablo Zabaleta in that right back position and can even be deployed as a center back, which will help in the dog days of December.
Pre-season results:
DUNDEE FC 2-1 MANCHESTER CITY
HEARTS 1-2 MANCHESTER CITY
AC MILAN 1-5 MANCHESTER CITY
MANCHESTER CITY 2-2 LIVERPOOL
MANCHESTER CITY 2-2 OLYMPIACOS
MANCHESTER CITY 0-3 ARSENAL
Tactics and probable line-up:
Manchester City were unstoppable at home last season and gradually improved their away form too. They played brilliant attacking football, typical of Pellegrini, and were a sound defensive unit. This season, the addition of Mangala will make them an even better defensive unit. Stevan Jovetic has the ideal opportunity to impress as Alvaro Negredo has been ruled out for a few months. The Montenegrin was blighted by injuries last season and will be keen to feature regularly this time. Sergio Aguero too has had a troubled period as he was not able to feature regularly for his country in the World Cup and hasn’t had the best of luck in terms of those small niggling injuries. Edin Dzeko was at his best for City in the last few months of last season and the onus is on him to carry that into this season in the absence of Aguero who just returned to training at Carrington.
Pellegrini tried 2 formations in most parts of last season and both turned out to be productive. In certain games, Pellegrini went with the 4-4-2 formation to accommodate 2 strikers up front. In the 4-2-3-1 formation, Toure and Fernandinho sat in front of the defense. The addition of Fernandinho last summer was key as it allowed Toure to make those marauding runs and join the attack. David Silva and Samir Nasri often swapped the play maker position with each other and Negredo, Dzeko, Aguero were chosen individually in certain games. In defense, Zabaleta and Kompany were the 1st names on the team sheet. The addition of Mangala will demote Demichelis to the bench as the Argentinian had a mixed season last time. However, Elaquim Mangala isn’t 100% fit and neither is Kompany who returned to training last week. So, expect Matija Nastasic to start in the opening few weeks.
In the game against Arsenal, the Chilean went with the same 4-2-3-1 formation but with different players. New signing Fernando struggled to cope with the movement of the Arsenal players, but with time he’ll definitely get better. Jovetic was deployed in the center forward role that he was renowned for at Fiorentina, but struggled to make any impact. The return of David Silva will add the creativity to the team and Jovetic will have to play better if he wants to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI. Jesus Navas will have competition for that right wing position with Scott Sinclair up to full fitness and the ever present James Milner.
How City might line up in the first few weeks
Prediction:
| Game changer: Yaya Toure | The WILD CARD: Stevan Jovetic |
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FOOTSIE’s Prediction League: 1st UCL: Last 8 |
