Heading into the International break this year, it’s good opportunity to reflect on where Manchester City stood in the previous Treble winning season. Look at whether Guardiola knew his best eleven yet, the form of the team and whether our best performances were still to come.

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Manchester City Best Eleven?

Before we look at this season, let’s go back to last season and remind ourselves where City actually were compared to our view of the team after completing the treble in Istanbul. Here are the March results

22/23 Season

04 MAR: Man City 2-0 Newcastle Premier League
11 MAR: Crystal Palace 0-1 Man City Premier League
14 MAR: Man City 7-0 RB Leipzig Champions League RO16
18 MAR: Man City 6-0 Burnley FA Cup Quarter Finals

23/24 Season

03 MAR: Man City 3-1 Man United Premier League
06 MAR: Man City 3-1 Copenhagen Champions League RO16
10 MAR: Liverpool 1-1 Man City Premier League
16 MAR: Man City 2-0 Newcastle FA Cup Quarter Finals

Now for both of those seasons there are results that I can pull out as very positive and one I can be concerned about heading into the March International break.

The game against Crystal Palace had City dominant on the ball and creating chances throughout but Rodri, Haaland, Grealish, Foden and Alvarez all missed those chances. A penalty late in the second half is what saw us pick up three points. Neither has the game away to Liverpool filled fans completely with confidence due to our set up and weakness being pressed, despite how impressive it was that the team held on for the point in a ground we have always struggled in.

Still City were comfortably through into the Champions League Quarter finals in both seasons. Although the score was lowers in the 23/24 season we still moved into the FA Cup semi final fairly comfortably, albeit two deflected goals but Manchester City were completely dominant against Newcastle United.

22/23 Team

Here is the breakdown of the 22/23 season minutes, highlighting who were the key players on the pitch.

Through the season Guardiola eventually found his way to this line up, the one most would associate with winning The Treble. By the time City were in March, the back line was almost locked in with only a choice between Walker or Akanji left. For the front six there was some rotation through Foden across the midfield and Mahrez coming in at RW but for the most part the selection was settled.

23/24 Minutes

Now we move back to this season, here are the minutes played by the players and you should quite quickly notice players with bigger roles in the team. Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez the three standouts.

For a breakdown of minutes by game, check out our google sheet here.

Key departures in Gundogan, Mahrez, Laporte and Cancelo in the summer saw a huge amount of minutes be opened up to existing players and new arrivals. Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes came in during the summer to fill those spots but have any of them worked their way into the best eleven?

Option A

Here is what we saw away at Copenhagen in the Champions League, bearing in mind that Gvardiol and Kovacic were both out injured at the time. The first twenty minutes prior to the Grealish injury was the most fluid in possession Manchester City have looked all season. Jeremy Doku did also perform well when coming on.

This would be our selection for the best eleven.

The battle between Ake and Gvardiol for the LB spot I think is still completely open, only an injury to Ake last season let Akanji in but Gvardiol has been the preferred option there most of this season.

Mateo Kovacic has had some fantastic performances in the last couple months in midfield, an impact coming on away at Anfield and has people wondering if he has done another to get into the midfield.

Jack Grealish was a guarantee last season at left wing but has had an inconsistent season filled with injuries, suspensions and personal issues. Guardiola has spoken frequently about the need for him in the team, playing and training at his best.

Guardiola was willing to drop Ruben Dias for Akanji at CB when City were away to Liverpool. The selection there is a little more open than it was last season where Stones and Dias were guaranteed first choice. Akanji had arguably been the best defender for City this season.

Ultimately this will come down to the team City are up against and no matter what you will always have a player on the bench that is your ‘12th man’. One that will just miss out. Last season that was Mahrez since Foden with his injury didn’t have a chance to realistically push into the starting eleven. This season Foden is assured a spot in the eleven and our ‘12th man’ is Mateo Kovacic or Jack Grealish.

Option B

Most recently against Newcastle we saw an approach that Guardiola has been working on throughout this season, pushing his full backs high and wide to allow the wide players to drift into central positions.

One to watch for next season.

This has been used to get the best out of Phil Foden, giving him the room to drift in from RW and it’s made possible by having Gvardiol/Walker. Kovacic has also fitted into this system as a partner to Rodri without a CB stepping into midfield. Suits Grealish operating inside and Jeremy Doku has shown in a number of games how well he could do in that role in the future.

This is something I think Guardiola is experimenting with for next season and could see us shift to as the option A depending on how they approach transfers in the summer. Do we look at full backs that provide more crossing threat or is the plan to use them as they are now?

Substitute Thoughts

When City look to the bench and everyone is fit then the options have changed from last season, having Foden, Alvarez and Mahrez the go to ones. This time around Foden is in the line up. Alvarez, Doku, Grealish and Kovacic are all options on the bench. The last two more likely starters or just missing out.

There will always be two very capapble defenders on the bench (barring injuries) to bring on as well. If Walker, Dias, Stones and Ake start the match then having Gvardiol and Akanji on the bench is a huge boost.

Ortega has proven even when Ederson has an injury (Newcastle/Liverpool) he is capable of slotting in mid game. Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb also good options to have who have both impressed in their moments this season.

That’s all for this newsletter in the world of Manchester City. Now it’s your turn to let us know what you think the best eleven is!

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