EFL Cup 2018/19: Burton Albion vs Manchester City

Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium hosted the reigning Carabao Cup holders Manchester City in the second leg of the semi-final. Holding a decisive 9-0 win from the first leg, City had arguably already booked their ticket to Wembley for the final. The second leg offered little to play for. With other objectives at hand, both managers could risk experimenting tactics that will be elaborated upon in this tactical analysis.

After piling big wins over Rotherham and EFL League One side Burton at the Etihad, City became the highest scoring side in Europe. City manager Pep Guardiola explicitly stated in the pre-match press conference that his objective was to diagnose his system’s weaknesses.

“Every single game can help us improve what we want to do. Depending on how they defend, we find the spaces and try to attack more fluently through our principles and methods.”

Burton manager Nigel Clough expressed pride that his supporters would enjoy seeing some of the best players in the world. This opportunity might not come to the Pirelli Stadium ever again. Little would he have envisioned that his very own Burton players would display one of their finest performances this season.

Guardiola’s experimentation

Clough and Guardiola shared an acquiescent relationship from the first leg. They virtually agreed on a gentlemen’s pact after the result of the first leg. Guardiola took big risks with his tactical experiment as a consolation to save Burton from another gigantic defeat.

He chose Philippe Sandler, who had only played 23 minutes of first-team football, to partner Eric Garcia at centre-back. This decision was debatable, considering how last season’s superman centr-back Nicolás Otamendi has been complaining about his lack of minutes. Danilo was the most experienced of the back four, and this influenced City’s tactical set-up.

Guardiola picked 18-year-old Ian Poveda-Ocampo from the under-23 squad as the left winger in his standard 4-3-3. With Fabian Delph working alongside De Bruyne for defensive security, most of the attacking link-up rested on Phil Foden’s shoulders. In this set-up, the pressure to score was clearly on Riyad Mahrez, whose absence in the previous fixtures has raised eyebrows.