Manchester City need three points against Leeds United, but this will require adapting to the way Daniel Farke’s team.
Newcastle gave Manchester City moments of worry last weekend, but the hosts were the better team on the night and deserved their victory.
However, having to hold onto a one-goal lead for an hour or more is less than ideal, even for a team with a strong defence like Man City.
Pep Guardiola’s team really ought to have increased their advantage and this has caused the manager to think about what needs to change against Leeds.
Pep Guardiola details what Man City must do differently against Leeds
‘More variation and unpredictability’ is the command Guardiola has sounded to his players ahead of another must-win fixture.
Guardiola is well aware of the changing landscape in the Premier League and how teams have learned how to defend more effectively against the top teams.
Therefore, he has outlined what Man City need to change against Leeds in order to turn chances into goals.
Guardiola said in his press conference: “I don’t take for granted, it’s so difficult [now to play out from the back], before they always allowed you to have two central defenders against a striker, or three against two. Now it’s not possible.
It will be the same at Elland Road, man marking. When we played at Newcastle it happened. I saw a few clips of Nottingham Forest with the new manager [Vitor Pereira]. Always it’s happened against Liverpool. That is the reality.”
According to Guardiola, this is now the method most teams use, causing him to find a solution which will see his side reignite their attacking threat.
“Most of the teams play that way,” he continued. “You have to adapt, have an alternative when that happens. An alternative is you have to play quicker up front, if you win that ball it’s a chance. We had an incredible five or six chances against Newcastle where we missed the last pass, when we can run.
“When the team is brave to go one against one, if you can make some combinations to win that ball you can run. Saying that, it’s not easy because you can make a safer two metre pass than a more difficult thirty metre pass.”
Guardiola added: “Always we try to find a way to not just use Erling or a striker in that position. We have to have more variation and unpredictability in our game to drop them and after that make another type of game.
“It’s like this, defend so high man to man and then defend so, so deep in the box. There are not ‘middle blocks’ and there is not much process to do it for many, many teams. But we are working on it.”
Man City’s attack has dropped off in recent weeks
Excluding a 10-1 thrashing of Exeter City in the FA Cup, Manchester City have looked less convincing in the attacking third of late.
They have managed to score in every game since a 0-0 draw against Sunderland on New Years’ Day, but are not reaching the levels they hit earlier in the season.
Should Man City secure a high-scoring victory over Leeds, that would be a big sign that the club have managed to overcome their problems in attack.
