FA Cup 2019/20: Sheffield Wednesday vs Manchester City – tactical analysis

After securing their third straight Carabao Cup on Sunday, Manchester City continued to fight for another title: the FA Cup. In the fifth round, they travelled to the Hillsborough and challenged Sheffield Wednesday, 12th in the EFL Championship. Pep Guardiola played his strongest available squad in this game, dominated the match and secured the victory thanks to Sergio Agüero’s goal.

In this tactical analysis, we will show you how Manchester City beat Sheffield Wednesday. It is an analysis that focuses on the two teams tactics.

Lineups

Garry Monk shifted his formation from a back four to a 5-3-2. City academy product Kieren Westwood was injured as Joe Wildsmith started his first game of the season. Their top goalscorer, Steven Fletcher was kept on the bench; Joey Pelupessy and Domonic Iorfa were given the chances to start too.

For City, they played in a 4-3-3 formation. Several players returned to the squad, including Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Nicolás Otamendi and Riyad Mahrez and João Cancelo. Kevin De Bruyne was absent due to a shoulder problem, and Leroy Sané is still looking to regain fitness. Guardiola will be hoping that both players can return soon for the final stretch in the Premier League and Champions League.

Sheffield Wednesdays midblock 

To begin with, we explain how Monk set up his team to defend against City. Although playing at home, Wednesday defended with a zonal midblock instead of pressing high. The defending players could be roughly divided into two groups. For the back five, they stayed at the back line and defend deep with both wing-backs instructed to step out early to approach the wide players. For the other five, they defended in a 3-2 ‘pentagon’ shape. It was a zonal system, basically, the players stepped out to approach the City players in the corresponding vertical zones.

As illustrated above, on most occasions, the left midfielder (Barry Bannan) pressed Cancelo while the strikers (Fernando Forestieri and Alessio da Cruz), took turns to press the corresponding centre-back. Staying compact was not a priority for the block, as, when a wide midfielder or striker(s) stepped out, the rest did not follow up.

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