The 24th game week of the 2020-21 Premier League season pitted old foes Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola against each other in another fascinating clash between Manchester City and Tottenham. Their matches have always been a game between possession and counter-attack with Pep’s team always controlling the possession but not the proceedings in some of their recent encounters.
Both come into the game with contrasting form, as Manchester City have been on a 10 game winning streak in the league since December while Jose’s men have won only 1 game in their last 4 PL encounters. This tactical analysis will look at the tactics deployed by both the managers in this crucial battle. Let’s begin the analysis.
Lineups
Pep made a couple of changes to the lineup that beat Liverpool 4-1 last weekend with one being a forced change. Gabriel Jesus came in for Riyad Mahrez while Aymeric Laporte was drafted in instead of the injured Ruben Dias.
Spurs made one change to the lineup that beat West Brom with Serge Aurier getting replaced by Tanganga in the right-back position. Moura started in the CAM role for the second game running while Lamela was deployed in the right flank.
Man City’s 2-3-5 shape during the buildup
Over the past 2 months especially in the absence of their key man, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City and Pep had altered their shape in possession. From their usual 2-3-5 shape, where the full-backs invert into the midfield, they went with a 3-3-4 where only one of the full-back comes interior while the other stays deep forming a 3 man backline against the opposition’s front line. The logic behind the change was to ensure a numerical superiority in all 3 phases. The change in this game was surprising given the previous shape’s success and the 2-3-5’s liability during transitions. The shape can be seen in the image below against the 4-2-3-1 of Spurs.
