Sports

How do you beat Premier League leaders Manchester City?

A much-changed Manchester City suffered their first defeat of the season in a 2-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday – but how can Manchester United beat a full-strength City team?
United host City this Sunday – but will Jose Mourinho ‘park the bus’ like he did against Liverpool last year, or are there weaknesses in Pep Guardiola’s masterplan to exploit?
City are undefeated in the Premier League this season, having only dropped points during a 1-1 draw at Everton after Kyle Walker was sent off in the first half.
Since that draw, City have equalled a Premier League record of 13 consecutive wins and scored a remarkable 46 goals from just 15 fixtures.
We examine City’s league performances this season to determine which strengths should be nullified and which weaknesses could be exploited…
GET SHOTS ON GOAL
City fielded a less familiar 3-4-3 formation against Shakhtar Donetsk and made six changes from their most recent Premier League game against West Ham.
However, despite facing an inferior City, the hosts managed six shots on target – two more than any team has managed against City in the league this term.
On average, one in three or four shots on target is scored – although City’s league opponents have averaged fewer than two per game.
In fact, City have only faced 27 shots on target – by far the fewest faced by any Premier League team – and have only conceded 10 goals, of which two were own goals.
Guardiola’s side have surpassed 74 per cent possession in their last four league outings. However, they have struggled to roll over teams like earlier in the season, winning their last three through late match-winning goals.
This season, teams have sought to salvage a point against the current league leaders by soaking up pressure but, ultimately, they have failed – which could be a warning for a ‘park the bus’ tactic.
So far, City have only faced three fellow ‘big six’ teams – Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal – with City recording below-average possession in each fixture, managing a season-low 58 per cent against the Gunners.
At times, City looked vulnerable in these fixtures, particularly against Liverpool before Sadio Mane was sent off in the 37th minute – which proved to be the catalyst for a 5-0 drubbing.

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