Gua Shuai VS Eddie Howe
Last Friday, Manchester City started the Premier League season with a 3-0 victory over Burnley in the first round of the Premier League.
It will be pointed out that this is only Burnley, but the strength of this team has changed a lot since its promotion to the top flight. They don't allow City to do things their own way. However, despite the threat posed in the first half, the Triple Crown ended the game relatively easily.
In the second round of the Premier League this weekend, Manchester City are at home to face a tough challenge from title contenders Newcastle, who impressed in the first round of the Premier League win 5-1 over Aston Villa.
With City's core Kevin De Bruyne unavailable due to injury, City's midfield organization is variable, so let's take a look at what tactical changes City will make.
Ederson often picked up the ball outside the box against Burnley, but more often passed the ball directly
Phil Foden was tactically key to City's victory over Burnley
Ederson has more help for the team to get the ball out
Ederson's touch map against Burnley shows how often he is out of the box
Over the summer, United signed Cameroon international Andre Onana to improve their ability to play the ball at the back. However, United's decision is likely to come because their city rivals Manchester City already have Ederson – one of the best sweeper goalkeepers. But in the early stages of the season opener away to Burnley, we saw Ederson's new role, who kept getting out of the box and wanted to play on the same line as the defenders when City established their attack. The 30-year-old has always been a goalkeeper with the ball and good shooting ability, and now we see Pep Guardiola believing his No.1 will take on more of the burden of playing the ball.
Left-back Lewis swung into midfield, while Ederson stepped up to separate Ake and Akanji left and right
Ederson passed the ball more directly against Burnley, completing 57 times and making just 13 turnovers
When Manchester City attacked, Ederson used his advantages in ball control and passing skills to become a central defender involved in the team's backfield, so that even in the face of the opponent's full pressure, Manchester City will at least have one more passing point than the opponent. Not only that, Ederson also has a good ability to pass forward, whether it is a mid-range pass to find a midfielder or a long pass to find a striker, Ederson does a good job.
Ederson moved out of the box before position
Ederson moved forward to create a back three in an attempt to lure Burnley out but eventually had to play longer passes in the defensive zone
Edson is not the traditional type of goalkeeper. In most cases, even goalkeepers with good skills at their feet will be less effective at organizing offense and breaking through opposing defenses. However, for his part, Ederson has enough passing range and accuracy to confidently launch attacks from the back and find free agents further up front.
How will Manchester City deal with De Bruyne's injury?
When Manchester City won their first Champions League title against Inter Milan at the end of the 2022/23 season, they achieved it without a midfield amulet. Kevin De Bruyne, 32, was forced to leave the field with an injury in the first half and City were forced to make adjustments during the game. The Belgian returned at the start of the new season, but unfortunately he lasted only 23 minutes before being forced off the pitch due to injury and now needs surgery.
Without Kevin De Bruyne's playmaking and passing in midfield, how would the boss have adjusted?
Foden occupies the team's forward position and acts as a link to Haaland
Luckily, they currently have a ready-made replacement – Phil Foden.
The England international started the match against Burnley on the left, Julian Alvarez on the right and Ellin Haaland in the middle.
As the game progressed, we saw Foden move more and more as he occupied the centre area and acted as a link with Haaland.
It was not surprising to see Foden start again against Newcastle, but was free to go deeper and play the role of De Bruyne for the team. Moreover, Foden is equally capable of creating and occupying space in the opposing half as a ball carrier.
Foden played a key role in Ederson's direct pass to Haaland
Newcastle promoted midfield
Since Newcastle changed hands, fans have been expecting the club to invest more in the transfer market. But Newcastle manager Eddie Howe did not lavish transfer funds, instead making every transfer decision he made was calm and wise. In the team's midfield position, they signed Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães from Lyon for £43 million, and Newcastle further strengthened their midfield squad this summer by signing Italy international Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.
In the opening game, their midfield was exceptionally good, joined by Guimaraes, Tonali and the more attacking Jolrington.
Newcastle's tactical choice to put pressure on Villa was wise
Both Tonali and Guimarães are very smart players and their agility in switching between attack and defence in the game is impressive. They have enough ability to divert and close the space where opponents can break through, as well as enough passing range and vision to effectively launch counterattacks.
Against Manchester City, Newcastle's midfield will be key because they have both strength and skill. Coupled with an aggressive player personality, it is highly likely to disrupt Manchester City's possession.
But even more crucially, when Newcastle win possession from a higher position, they must be able to take advantage of the space City leave in attacking and defensive conversions.
As Tonali went deep into the attack, Trippier was given an option, which allowed Guimarães to run forward.
What should Newcastle look out for?
We must be clear. This Manchester City team is very difficult to deal with – they are stronger overall. We've seen Guardiola add tactical detail to the way they play in the form of Ederson's positioning. And, of course, they also have one of the most dangerous strikers in world football, Ellin Haaland. For Newcastle, to play this game well, their attention needs to be focused on the midfield and must prevent Manchester City from easily controlling the ball in the central area of the pitch.